The Hero is always someone else

So he came, crying, kicking, in tears, covered in blood
Someone cutout what kept him from coming in
Someone pushed him into the scene, wonder if he would have come eventually
Someone wiped his tears, blood and warmed him up,
While she looked on, struggling to get his eyes opened, he cried, kept crying
When did he start walking, learned to be proud, and thought of independence?
For he came assisted, will go assisted;
Someone else’s benevolence, he was pushed to being born
Some else’s kindness, he might get a respectful farewell!

Dannie John
18-May-2011

A twist to come

A rush of blood into my head
Little finger moves up a bit
Eyelids flutters just for a while
Sweat drops drip through my chin

My body shivers, shudders in pain
I am spent, my head almost droops
But a flash of light enters my thought
It shakes me up, lifts up my head
I hear a gentle voice speaketh to me
Come ‘on pal, you can’t lie low,
A man can fall, can lag, can lose
But one can’t give up, or stop the fight
For one who gives up and stops the fight
Is not worthy of being called a man
For one who gives in and lets in defeat
Had lost the plot, even before first bell
Now come ‘on pal, gather up yourself
Go back in there and bring on the best
Go on fighting up till the grave, but go on and on
Blood may ooze through sweat drops
Bones may crunch under the pressure
Muscles may give up, so may your body
But as long as hope persists
There is still a twist to come

So here I am, limping my way up
My backbone squeals as it straightens up
But once on my legs, I hold my head high
Ready for another fight, to go on all the way
Never to give up, Never to lose hope
I may be dead, but buried, not quite yet
I will not give up till the coffin’s shut
Even then, I will fight back from my grave
And come back alive to win my moment
For if there is hope, there is a twist to come

Dannie John
28th Feb 2011

Where we all belong

There is this place beyond the window rails
Beyond our daily chores, away from piles of papers
Far from the flickering screen with zeros and ones
A place we call our own, a secret dwelling or a lonely planet

Chasing images that appear on pages, or in a lovely film
Or those that zoom past us, as we stand stranded at a busy crossroad
We build it around us, in tiny fragments, bit at a time
The texture of which resembles the scarlet of a late evening
Or the dampness of those hillside holidays
The cacophony of a messy main street
Or the silence that precedes the morning sun
Light rays or dew drops, screeching horns or quietness
For each of us, our own, this place our heaven on earth
Hidden at times from even our own consciousness

Strangely though, we move in and out
Drifting between realms like gods do
To be there, and here, now and next
But for some of us,
It is to be there, that we are here
Rarely wanting to come back, to live
Oh, but for us, to live is to be there
To breathe is to die to our surroundings
Our bodies remain alive, our mind alive in our own place
Hidden at times from even our own consciousness

There is this place beyond the lives of others, or ours
This is a place where we all belong
So distinct but yet so similar
All at once, and forever

Dannie John
19-Feb-2011