Soul Singing (Thinking of Dad)

The flags of my heart

Today they fly at half mast

Thinking of a father

Getting lost in the past

You never let me down

You never judged or hated

You stuck around

A rock to cling to in a broken home

I turn to all those memories

That time try’s to steal

Holding on to small things

Those artefacts that keep you real

You came for me in those dark spaces

Your love was never judgmental or faithless

Although you are scattered dust long dissipated

If I need you my heart knows the places

So the flags of my heart

They may fly at half mast

But the chorus of my soul is written in your image

I hope you hear it singing

Peter Anstiss
Copyright 2019

Love is…

‘Love is’

She gave me
A ‘love is’ cup
Before we knew what love was

At that age
You can hurt each other
Without doing any wrong

At that age
You don’t know the truth
You don’t know you’re strong

Love is
Laughing and loving
When your drifting midstream

Love is
Clinging to each other
When the boat is lost and the rapids flow

Love is
giving everything
And not taking it just because you can

Love is
Me plus you
Not just bodies uniting, not just woman and man

At our age
We know regret, we’ve ridden that bus
It won’t change the love that exists between us

‘Love is’

© 2017 Peter Anstiss

#Love

What we write…

What we write…

What we write
Can consume us
Becoming bullets
That blast through us
Moments in words
That douse all the flames
In the midst of a song
A whispered name

Sometimes the words
They won’t come
Like a love you can’t feel
When hurt leaves you numb
But love is still there!
Even though the river is dammed
We must do what we can
It’s never enough
To silently write

We must be heard…

Peter Anstiss
Copyright 2017

Ripples…

Ripples!

Am I just a ripple in your pond?
When I reach the edges I’ll be gone,
Or you could cast another stone!
Would that be wrong?

© 2016 Peter Anstiss

Be a light…

Be a light for someone

I don’t mean to disappear into darkness,
When life heaps crisis after crisis,
But you should know by now,
I will be there for you,
Even when I am not there for me,

Being hunted by an old foe
Being harrowed by familiar pain
These things are best named
But somehow those words
They never reach my lips

Waking up to sunshine and new hope
To have it dashed upon the rocks
Burdens shared and halved
The lights you place to show the way
Those little things you do on any given day

You keep me looking back
To show how far I’ve come
Too long staring at the path ahead
Can feel like parting threads
Until I am completely undone

Bless all your little lights
They keep me in the fight
Bless all those heartfelt words
They are whispering candles in my dark
A lighthouse in the storm of my heart

© 2016 Peter Anstiss

Confetti for the unwed…

Confetti for the Unwed

Springs confetti never fell for us
That does not mean it wasn’t love
We were never just water under the bridge
My heart will always echo that kiss

Sometimes the timing is all wrong
Just one misplaced beat and the song is gone
There are truths that only my heart knows
Sometimes a winter frost kills the seeds we sow

© 2016 Peter Anstiss

Lost paths…

Lost paths

In the wake of a storm
Some paths are lost
Banks will burst
And boats are tossed

The ebb and flow
The ripple and tug
We cling to each other
And hope it’s enough

It took me so long to realise
Too late to be wise
There are other days
And different skies
With the dawn comes the calm…

© 2016 Peter Anstiss

A Falling Stone…

A Falling Stone

Your stone
Caused all these ripples
Of ever expanding waves of joy
Washing up on the shore of my soul

Your voice
Echoes warm and true
Filling me with resounding wonder
Amidst the emptiness of my existence

Your soul
In a certain light
I am sure I see it shining bright
It is like you, a beautiful thing to behold

© 2016 Peter Anstiss

If you enjoy my poetry why not take a look at my book ‘Heart Shaped Sin’ Which is available from most online retailers.

Locked Doors and Lost Loves

Locked Doors and Lost Loves

Sometimes you close a door
And everything changes
Your heart stays young
Whilst everything else ages
Love can set you free
But at times it cages
For you I could unlock
For you I could be ageless

© 2016 Peter Anstiss

I took this picture on a recent holiday. This sad and unloved door stood amidst a row of perfectly presented houses. It oozed character and begged for its tale to be unlocked, but perhaps some secrets are best left to the imagination…

Journey on… Bright lights and bad blood

Journey on… Bright lights and bad blood

My tale is sad
He said my blood is bad
I longed to prove him wrong

My past was dark
But that darkness it was never mine
Wrong place, wrong time

Swimming for the light
Running those dreams down
Even when others give you doubt

Journey on
Travel wide
Reach for blue skies

© 2016 Peter Anstiss