By Scott Bailey © 2017
Sunlight pleases him
Teases him with memories
Blotting out real life

Sunlight pleases him
Teases him with memories
Blotting out real life
Tiny, warm, fragile
Fingers tightly holding mine
Treasured memories
Miracle needed
To save the earth from its doom
Songbirds hail the dawn
Let not victory
Excite you too much, karma
Has her eye on you
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, Twenty Five
The blackbird perches High in the silver elm tree The wind tests the trunk
A quick one – a haiku written without the letter o.
Speaker throbs with bass
Notes leap higher and higher
Feedback thrills the crowd
Behold the great eye
Watching through the trees, maybe
Just a butterfly
The tiger curses
Beautiful, perfect pelt
The hunter’s desire
Starlings swooping down
As they spy the big city
Wonders await them
I’m fresh out of spring
Beyond the long summer days
Winter is coming
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, Think global, act local!
We must treasure those Who are close and are willing To help those afar
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, Burning down the house
The mountain rained fire Castle trembled, emptied of life In time, forgotten
There once was a time
When the crackle of vinyl
Was the path to love
A shout from the earth
Twisting rivers of fire
Cascade to the sea
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, free association.
The rain on the soil Leads us to the homeward road Where roots are deepest
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, Toot your horn
A tenuous connection but that’s how my mind works.
Knowledge is nothing To admit your ignorance That is true wisdom
The kingfisher marks
The day with a drip, drip, then
Flashing, splashing colour.
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, Clean Slate
Rain washes the slates Grey sheen shines in the sunlight Ready for the moss
We swing from lack of
Parlay to way too much talk
Blessing or a curse?
Let the wind blow me
On the course of its desire
The ocean’s freedom
The ancient secret
Burns in our hearts and our blood
Obscured by sharp lies
If you really want to know the secret check out Mankind Limited
The brush of midnight
Sweeps darkness across the sky
Sprinkled with white stars
In response to Scott’s Daily Prompt, Stroke of Midnight
Silk slides on the breeze
Meets the flow of sharpened steel
Leaves a perfect tear
The meteor dares
To kiss the flames of the sun
Then slingshots away
Sleek steel aperture
Widens for a brief moment
Exposing a truth
Thinking aesthetics
Is vaguely anaesthetic
Trying hard to write
I’m not capable
Of writing a good poem
Tonight. Worn right out
Someday, one day, soon
After that important thing
That I need to do
Little monkey clings
Tightly to his mother’s back
Ancient lizard flies
This car is coasting
Familiar road ahead
Time to go off-road
Gravity
When specific
Has strange effects
Things get wibbly-wobbly
Certain lines
Get bent
Other lines
Get crossed
So watch
The specific gravity
Feel the space around
Everywhere that I can see
Breathe, release and live
Discovered knowledge
Treasured sweeter than any
Teacher could serve up
Dead enthusiasm
Passion for mundane labours
Seems to be required
Ring the bells of life
Every heartbeat tolling on
So jingle them well
Kingfisher fishing
Silver treasure in the dark
Ice seals the lake shut
The cold swallows flee
Riding currents to the south
Rivers take their time
Never ending beach
The crashing waves repeating
Permanence missing
Swifts swoop and dazzle
Aerobatics in the sky
Still, we watch in awe
Stood before a wall
Dreaming of the road beyond
Still before a wall
You must remember
When waking from reveries
All your dreams vanish
Let’s play with our pets
Keep them happy and content
While we milk them dry
Golden sunlight fills
The air where the songbirds spill
Their song while frost kills
Yes, if you fancy a bit more luxury, you can now get all four of my books in hardcover format!
For quick links to them all jump over to my Amazon Page.
Or read on.
Marc trudged on with life, marching in line with his fellow workers. Weighed down by the everyday burdens of life, the pressure to conform, to succeed or face destitution.
Yet he knew, in his heart that it was all wrong, the questions squirmed like fiery dragons in the pit of his heart, beneath his deepest darkest doubts.
Until they grew and burst his sanity, set him on a path of defiance and rebellion. A path that would cross three others – all like him seeking answers.
A path of danger and adventure that would see him marked as a terrorist and fleeing for his life. It would see him find love and heartbreak, hope and despair, Most of all, it would open his eye to the possibility of an ancient and powerful secret that might answer all his doubts and fears.
If he survived.
In a world obsessed with measurement and success four rebels question everything – including themselves.
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 the reader. To 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.
Something not only with greater length but also depth
As the title says – thirteen tales about ghosts. Yet, while ghosts feature in them all – not all are traditional ghost stories.
You will find the vengeful spirit but also the plaintiff one. The haunting message from the past and the playful spirits capturing the joy of their past lives.
Some of these visitors from beyond lead the haunted to peace and joy – others take them on much darker paths to places with no return.
Enjoy them – just don’t get too comfortable.
Ideal for sitting around a campfire and late at night under the covers. Or maybe not if the stories themselves are any guide.
Three hundred and sixty-five poems in all shapes and sizes, sprung from dreams and emotion. Published day after day for a year. There are haiku, sonnets, katauta, lanturnes and many other forms – including free form.
The moods are as varied as the forms and often reflect my mood on the day. There is sadness and grief, joy and love. If nothing else – these can provide a small moment in everyone’s stressful lives to stop and contemplate the world in a different way.
The result of a year-long challenge to write a poem a day for a year. Raw and accessible poems of many moods.
The sun reaches out
And excites the northern sky
A watcher’s pleasure
Resting on the coast
The soothing sounds of the sea
Fill this empty shell
Hope holds back the tide
Stays the shifting golden sand
Thin mist arises
The painted ladies
Thousands fly from Africa
To be lunch for birds