By Scott Bailey © 2013
Mistakes seep into
Our minds through repetition
Habitual truth’s born
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Errors
Poetry
News
By Scott Bailey © 2013
What’s behind the story
What is the reason for that news
Who gets the benefit, the prize
The envelope with the bread
The law successfully passed
The company tracked greased
Somebody’s life made easier
At the cost of somebody else
Repeating Lives
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Taking my son to my old school
Following the bus I used to take
Still the same number
Basically the same model
The same smell of classrooms
And I wonder
Is this it?
Are we destined
To repeat lives?
It is not enough
I want more
More for my children
Than was there for me
No fear
More doors
No prejudice
More joy in knowledge
Is that too much to ask?
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Storms
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Clouds piling up dark
Lightning flashing – sky to ground
Rumbling all around
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
The Joke
By Scott Bailey © 2013
I am a mirror
Distorted
Even cracked
But a reflection still
I share with you my fear
And passion
My fear is blue
Deep dark blue
All sharp angles
Like shark fins
And knives
Fear that turns me
As white as a clown.
Alas, my fear is my passion
My love
I seek it out
To taste the thrill
Of the fear and the chase
And I share it out
While I play my games
with the orphan
the fear
the dark, dark blue
that bears
the sign of the bat
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Reality
By Scott Bailey © 2013
No reality.
That’s what attracts them
No history, no baggage
Only dreams of the night
That’s the attraction of the mistresses,
the hookers and the one night stands.
No reality.
Better to live in real love
Than empty dreams
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Steely Stress
By Scott Bailey © 2013
The lights on the corners of the boxes of steel
Are giving me a pain in the head
Like the fools who drive slowly in the outside lane
They are driving but their brains are dead
They have a purpose those lights you see
And I expect them to flash
Maybe that is my big mistake
Forgetting people are so rash
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Divine
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Imagine
Me
I kill without discrimination
for race, for age, for sex or sexuality
I take saints and sinners
I take your loved ones
in return
I deal you pain
without explanation
when asked
the answer is
that you cannot hope to understand me
As a man
you would lock me up
revile me
or label me insane
But I am divine
So that’s OK then
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Shadows
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Our voices are simply the shadows
Cast by our dreams and our thought
If the shadows become ineffectual
Then our voices will end up as naught
Yet shadows can give us the outline
Of what is looming above
If we take note of the darkness
We can give those dreams a shove
One thing we must yet remember
To give those shadows a shape
Sunlight is needed behind it
From brightness, the dreams will escape
Web
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Glistening silver
A delicate spider web
Fallen tree around
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Fallout
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Taut relationship
Strained over a bloody mess
Chemical fallout
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Memory Lane
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Sound, sound, drumbeat hard
Too loud, who cares, light flashing.
Thumping beat, hot air, alcohol haze.
Saturday nights of days gone by
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Winter
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Winter’s wind blows fierce
through silk and wood it does pierce
a lonely howling
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Evening Beach
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Splashing on the beach
Throwing pebbles in the surf
With red sun sinking
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Intolerance
By Scott Bailey © 2013
I am a tolerant man no more
Intolerant of inequality
And all who promote it
Intolerant of injustice
And all those who peddle it
Time to make the world
The way it should be
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Society
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Is society
Tension on the webs between
Elites and masses
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Poor Race
By Scott Bailey © 2013
As a race
We should step up
To eliminate the gap
Between the haves and the have-nots
Between the singers with their bling and the slaves on the line
Between the bankers with their blank cheques and the children in poverty
For most of history most men women and children
Lived in misery, died hungry.
We are a disgrace
As a race
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Wonder Shore
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Back from the shore
Into my arms.
After an explore
In a world of charms
A world full of wonder
Mystery and fun
Of beaches and crabs
And space to run
Breathing salty air
Hearing laughter ring
Dancing without a care
Of what tomorrow may bring
So dance some more my son
Enjoy the sun and sea
When the day is done
Run back home to me
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Burton (A Clerihew)
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Sir Richard Francis Burton
For who life was so certain
He was a master of disguise
Caught Mecca by surprise
Modern Times
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Primary colours or simple fruit
Clickety click click and point.
Open the way to a blind deluge
Illuminate the mind
Bright blinding highway – superfast.
On a never-ending roll
Swallow it all until we drown
Where is the straw of truth?
Green Board
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Turn upon turn upon turn upon turn
Green upon green upon green upon green
Tracks and tracks and shining silver
Decision-making machine
Can it take the pressures
Of expectations on board
Will I
Uncaring Mirth
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Laughter echoes
In rarefied halls
Between clinks from glasses
Raised in champagne toasts
While expensive soles
Walk heavy
On broken dreams and despair
Flown
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Another one lost
Too short, too precious, and gone
Little heart flown high
The Cracked Vase
By Scott Bailey © 2013
The vessel is cracked
Still holds the sacred blooms
Still revered
Though the blooms are without root
Rootless. Dying.
Still revered.
Water though refreshed,
Still stagnates
Dead blooms replaced
With freshly cut.
Repetition
Builds a patina of respect
Authority
Habit.
The vessel is cracked
Empty of life
Yet forever filled
and revered.
Autumn
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Autumn golden brown
covers the hard icy ground
a leafy carpet
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
The Songbird
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Bird sings by the pool
in the spring in a soft cool breeze
her voice a sweet sound
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Traffic
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Brushed by death today
Twice.
Metal boxes speeding
Too fast, too near me
Driven on by the wrong thoughts
Or expensive wanderings
Energy
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Starlight is silent
Waves crash and roar on the shore
Then there is matter
The New
By Scott Bailey © 2013
The new can’t replace the should have been
The should have been haunts us forever
Though the new will be a healer
And receive all our love just the same.
It’s pointless being angry at fate
But that doesn’t stop the burn
The frisson on top of everyday stress
For the should have been we always yearn.
The new will have its own should have been.
So maybe we will understand.
And make a happier life will be.
At least that is the plan.
Bricks
by Scott Bailey © 2013
Coloured bricks
Red, blue, yellow, white
and many more.
Many shapes
Many sizes
No limits
Many surprises.
Build a fire engine,
A house, a school,
A lake, a park, a city, a town.
A space station and spaceships and an alien host.
A castle, a bridge a knight and a ghost!
All this and more build it all
And never ever build up your wall.
Published in A Spring of Dreams
#RebuildTheWorld
Class of Blood
By Scott Bailey © 2013
You people don’t understand.
It’s tradition.
It’s sport.
It’s in our genes.
Blood.
Jobs are created
By the sport we choose.
By the blood we shed.
Surely that’s enough.
Of course
The same can’t be said
For you
And your cock fights.
Silver Icons
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Shining argent in sunlight or silver sheen in the rain
Letter, rings, lions.
Phoenix or tiny names
Even flying angels and leaping fluid cats.
Bright, alluring but for many
The last thing they will see.
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Dreams in the Universe
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Motes of dust
So we have been described
Floating in the vastness of time and space
Small, inconsequential.
Dust motes made of dust from ancient dead stars.
Yet.
So far.
Amongst all we see,
the starfields of diamond dust,
the ancient piercing light,
the glowing, magical, wispy nebulae,
the rainbow rings of Saturn,
the storms of Jupiter,
the blinding light of supernova,
the singular dark of black hole,
world after world
galaxy after galaxy.
Nowhere have we found
yet
Anything that compares
to the complexity, the wonder, the intricacy,
the magic
of
the thoughts of you and I
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Green-Eyed Monster
By Scott Bailey © 2015
Dear Mr Hulk
I too am green
A different green
Not anger
Jealously
I wonder
Which is stronger
The angrier you get
The stronger you get
The more jealous I get
Of you
For you
Can rage and rage
And smash
While I can only seethe
Consequence binds me tight
So remember
When you condemn
Your weaker half
With contempt
It is harder
Much harder
To be human
Than Hulk
Deaths Sorrow
By Scott Bailey © 2015
Sir Terry Pratchett
His humour – well no one could match it
Now his pen is laid down
Death’s grin now a frown
#TerryPratchett
#Poetry
Sparks
By Scott Bailey © 2013
A sad shadow falls
Casting gloom over our dreams:
Sparks dispel the dark!
Originally published in A Spring of Dream
Fox and Hare
By Scott Bailey © 2019
Fox detests the stream
Barring the way to her prey
Favour for the hare
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #258 Favor&Detest
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Breaking into the top 10!
Many thanks to everyone who downloaded my latest poetry collection during the launch promotion. If you get the time for a review that would help greatly. The good news is that it manged to break into the top 10 in its genre both in the UK and US, reaching no. 7 and 8 respectively.
Let’s hope it continues to attract attention and climb now it’s off promotion.
If you still interested head over to Amazon and get your copy.
Andervayne’s Dream – The Golden Man
Andervayne’s Dream
Coming Soon
More Details
The Golden Man
This was originally supposed to be the libretto for an opera. I wrote the words but it turned out it was too word heavy. The project was never completed so I dusted it off, edited and turned it into an epic poem.
There is no real structure here beyond rhyming and making it ‘songlike” but there is an allegorical tale to be wheedled out.
This is a much older poem and much more lighthearted. It has a strange format which is simply the structure of each twinned verse. It does not go beyond that. It is a flight of fantasy, magic without bounds, just letting my imagination run wild for the fun of it.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Andervayne’s Dream – Consciousness Cubed
Andervayne’s Dream
Coming Soon
More Details
Consciousness Cubed
Unlike the other poems in this collection, this is not a tale. Instead, it is a stream of consciousness. I let my thoughts flow wherever they wanted to go, however, it uses a very strict form, so I had to channel those thoughts within the gullies created by the structures.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Andervayne’s Dream – The Tales of the Star Dancer
Andervayne’s Dream
Coming Soon
More Details
The Tales of the Star Dancer
This is a much older poem and much more lighthearted. It has a strange format which is simply the structure of each twinned verse. It does not go beyond that. It is a flight of fantasy, magic without bounds, just letting my imagination run wild for the fun of it.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Andervayne’s Dream – Some Details
And Other Poems
More Details
Andervayne’s Dream
In these times of quick gratification and short attention spans, I decided to try and buck the trend and present something not only with greater length but also depth.
The poems in this collection were written over a long period and for different purposes. They are varied but they are all long. And they all represent challenges. Each was a challenge to myself, to sustain a quality of writing for a long period and within tight constraints of form while still telling a story. They also represent and challenge to the reader. The throw off the pressure of everyday life, the pressure to hurry, hurry, hurry to take the time to read something, absorb it over time.
Such effort needs reward, these poems should not be a one-time quick fix. If the reader is going to put that effort in then there should be a payoff, they should be able to continue to get something from it afterwards. Whether that be from contemplation of what they have digested or from revisiting, rereading and seeing things they missed the first time around. So the final challenge to me was to provide this depth of content – not just quantity.
In the next few days, there will follow a brief description of each of the five poems in this collection.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Andervayne’s Dream – The Golden Man
Andervayne’s Dream
Coming Soon
More Details
The Golden Man
This was originally supposed to be the libretto for an opera. I wrote the words but it turned out it was too word heavy. The project was never completed so I dusted it off, edited and turned it into an epic poem.
There is no real structure here beyond rhyming and making it ‘songlike” but there is an allegorical tale to be wheedled out.
This is a much older poem and much more lighthearted. It has a strange format which is simply the structure of each twinned verse. It does not go beyond that. It is a flight of fantasy, magic without bounds, just letting my imagination run wild for the fun of it.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Carman
By Scott Bailey © 2013
I make cars
I always have
As did my father.
Prestige cars.
The most famous in the world
Made with pride.
Made with precision.
Made to last.
To shine and glide!
Every working day.
All the working hours.
My trusty hands create.
I may be steeped in habit
Tradition and old ways
But I trust in my own fate.
I support my family.
I support the plant.
And I support the land.
I pay my way my dues
while on my shoulders weighs
the burden that I support.
After all these years of toil
All my many dues.
Imagine my surprise, my boss.
I have given more than you!
In response to the daily prompt Famous
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Andervayne’s Dream – The Main Event
And Other Poems
Andervayne’s Dream
Coming Soon
More Details
Andervayne’s Dream
This is the longest and by far the most complex of the works here. The main bulk of the poem follows a very strict format (the Prologue and Epilogue are purposefully outside this format and there is meaning in that too). Part of that format informs the inclusion of much of the symbolism within and the allegory of the tale. The challenge here was to create a story within all these constraints.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Andervayne’s Dream – Cover Design – Revisited
So I have had another go. after the three below.
A
B
C
I came up with this one:
Which I think is the one I will be going with.
Andervayne’s Dream – Some Details
And Other Poems
Andervayne’s Dream
Coming Soon
More Details
Andervayne’s Dream
In these times of quick gratification and short attention spans, I decided to try and buck the trend and present something not only with greater length but also depth.
The poems in this collection were written over a long period and for different purposes. They are varied but they are all long. And they all represent challenges. Each was a challenge to myself, to sustain a quality of writing for a long period and within tight constraints of form while still telling a story. They also represent and challenge to the reader. The throw off the pressure of everyday life, the pressure to hurry, hurry, hurry to take the time to read something, absorb it over time.
Such effort needs reward, these poems should not be a one-time quick fix. If the reader is going to put that effort in then there should be a payoff, they should be able to continue to get something from it afterwards. Whether that be from contemplation of what they have digested or from revisiting, rereading and seeing things they missed the first time around. So the final challenge to me was to provide this depth of content – not just quantity.
In the next few days, there will follow a brief description of each of the five poems in this collection.
Keep an eye for more updates to follow. Or watch my author pages here or on Amazon
Andervayne’s Dream – Getting Physical
By which I mean – here is the proof copy!
Woohoo!
Already spotted three mistakes 😦
All progress though.
Andervayne’s Dream – Cover Design
So, trying to design the cover for my upcoming poetry collection. So here’s a quick poll – which of these looks best? Are any of them any good? Or should I try again? Let me know in the comments.
A
B
C
Shall We March
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Shall we march?
Shall we shout?
Or kneel
And take it
As always
A turn our eyes away
To bright distractions
In response to my daily prompt March
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 