Category: Poems

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Posting On Social Media

Steve Rowe

What you post on social media as a martial artist is importantYou should be genuineBy reading or watching what you postGives you the opportunity to be objectiveAnd learn about yourselfIf you put others down, even surreptitiouslyYou only demean yourselfWe often do it without realisingInsulting people followed by a complimentIs a double insult and most people know thisTelling people what ‘not’ to doOr that something is wrongIs insulting those that do itWhy not be positiveAnd put out there what you doAnd let others judgeWhat’s good or badWhat’s right or wrongThe only time you should look down on someoneIs to give them … Continue reading Posting On Social Media

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3am Black Dog

Steve Rowe

It’s always at 3amYou wake with a feeling of dreadIt can come from medicationOr lack of itMaybe PTSDOr something happening in lifeOr just plain anxiety and fearEither way it’s always 3am You’ve been asleepAnd the unconscious has been free to roamYou wake with this powerful sense of dreadYour mind attaches reason to itBut that’s not always what it isEvery nerve in the body hurtsNot with painBut with emotionA kind of yearning You distract the mind to ease itAnd think it’s goneBut as soon as you stop the distractionIt returnsEventually you sleepBut when you wake upThe black dog is still sitting … Continue reading 3am Black Dog

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Language Of The Depressed

Steve Rowe

The language of the depressed. You have to listen carefullyDon’t give an opinion unless askedSometimes they just want to be heardJust want their problems recognisedEmpathy is often interpreted as pitySupport is to be there and pay attentionTo help if asked forOr to ask if there’s anything you can do to helpUnrequested advice or help is seen as bullyingThe language is often codedThe problem is depersonalisedSpoke about in the the 3rd personOr approached obliquelyBecause they are embarrassedBy listening and paying attentionWatching the body languageFeeling the energyAllowing them to talkUntil they feel comfortableYou can be the greatest helpBe a good friendAnd help … Continue reading Language Of The Depressed

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My Poor Old Vehicle

Steve Rowe

My vehicle is 73 years oldThe paintwork is scarred beyond beliefThe joints are rusted, don’t work and creakThere are essential bits missingIt’s gone round the clock a few timesWouldn’t pass an MOTIn the past was driven way too hardGiven the wrong type of fuelThe driver has been a complete idiotBut it’s served wellYou have to love itSo many memoriesEvery bit of wear and tearTells a storyWould I trade it in for a new modelNot likelyWhen this one goesI’m giving up driving. Steve Rowe Continue reading My Poor Old Vehicle

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A Jewel Between My Eyes

Steve Rowe

It’s like my conscious sat back and watchedI didn’t even know it was thereDespite the the fact it’s my immortal selfMy desires made me hurt othersPhysically, mentally and emotionallyWhen I finally learned to be stillI identified what had always been thereLike a precious jewel between my eyesI found a place of refugeWhere we could observe my idiocyWhen I could objectively see myselfIt changed meWhen I realised that everything was oneIt changed meI stopped hurting others and myselfI discovered empathyStopped supporting hurting and killing by proxyStopped supporting warStopped eating animalsStopped indoctrinated tribalism and nationalismRealised that it’s not just what you doBut … Continue reading A Jewel Between My Eyes

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Ong Namo…

Steve Rowe

Ong Namo…Greeting universal consciousnessAs it fills the space in every cell in my bodyThe dark and cold of the cave behind meThe immovability of the rock surrounding meThe dawning light at the cave mouthThe steam from the awakening earth and plantsAs the morning warmth blends with the cold of nightThe earthy smell mixing with the heady perfume of awakening flowersThe profound silenceInterspersed with the calling of birdsThe trees stretching their branchesSo the leaves absorb the sunThe rough robe against my skinMorning hunger letting me know I’m aliveThe growl of ‘Ong’ from the lower abdomenVibrating the roof of my mouthOpening the … Continue reading Ong Namo…

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Armistice Day

Steve Rowe

Meditation On Remembrance…. It was putrid;The stench of footrot, blood, vomit and fear;Mud everywhere, everything was soaked right through;Men dragged into service and some foolishly volunteering. Whilst the politicians talked over whisky and cigars, we rotted and died;In agony and fear in trenches for countries that only existed as names;Boundaries set by greed, ambition and politics;We rotted, bled, cried, shook and died for them. Over the top;We scrambled, slid and run in fear towards other human beings;Screaming death and destruction waving our widow makers;To be mercilessly cut down by machine gun and rifle fire;By other humans wondering what the hell … Continue reading Armistice Day

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Life Is A Prison Cell

Steve Rowe

Life is a prisonStuck in this meat vehicleWe die into itSufferAnd are born out of it Like a prisonerWe have to learn how to serve our timeDon’t look forwardDon’t look backServe our timeDay by dayHour by hourBreath by breath Don’t expect anythingAccept what we haveAccept where we areDon’t suffer about our sufferingServe our sentencePay our duesUntil we’re released It sounds like it’s a bad viewBut it’s actually notIt’s truthSeek happiness and you’ll never find itBe miserable and you’ll suffer moreAccept the truth Don’t wantDon’t not wantAs your body rots around youBe happy that you’re nearing releaseSleep on the floorAnd you’ll … Continue reading Life Is A Prison Cell

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Loneliness…

Steve Rowe

You can be lonely in a crowdThat feeling that you’re differentThat nobody understands youIsolated from friends and familyWhen others tell you what you’re likeAnd they’ve got it wrongVery wrongAnd you can’t tell themThe suffering cuts your soulPain –PhysicalEmotionalMentalAnguish that tears through all 3 statesBeing human feels like prisonStuck in amongst aliensLooking at you like you’re a walking zooMisinterpreting what you sayHow you lookHow you actPeople look, judgeBut can’t see youCan’t understand youLoneliness is not just being on your ownIt’s being on your ownWhoever you’re withTrying to communicateThrough a filterThat obviously doesn’t workPeople say talk to someoneMy door’s always openThe kettle’s … Continue reading Loneliness…

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The Right Time To Go

Steve Rowe

When your dog is sufferingAnd has no quality of lifeYou put him out of his miseryYet we let relatives and ourselvesSuffer interminablyPlaces of healing become places of tortureHospitals and hospices leave people writhing in painDemented human bodies are left in fearWandering like the undeadTo placate their relatives, the law and outdated religionWe have the choiceBut not the methodWhen we don’t have the mind or bodyTo complete the actWe need a way to be out of our miseryGovernments kick the can down the roadThe young and healthy don’t want to think about itConvincing everyone it’s an act of cowardiceAnd not fair … Continue reading The Right Time To Go