Shouting into the hole that is the whole
Nothing back.
Raging against the system that is all
Nothing changed.
Staring at the box with the box.
Nothing gained.
Justifying every move you make
Not explained.
Time to change.
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
See the sky blush with
Golden fire heaven sent
And then the darkness
In response to the daily prompt Blush
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
There are empty spaces
left as people move on,
of the spaces of places long gone,
of times gone by
There is a link between present and past
an energy, a potential,
strung between the memories gone
and the living yet to roll on
The link hums with the tension
and the empty spaces echo back the thrum
deep rich reverberation
layered on the past, the present, the future
Such is the music of life.
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
Nature
Claws back its realm
Over many ages
Verdant fingers prying apart
Even
The strongest of our creations
With persistence of growth
Old and fertile
Mother
In response to the daily prompt Patience
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
See the argent moon
Chasing the brightest sunbeams
Moments slip away
Ideas buried deep in the mind
Forgotten, beneath the rubbish
The everyday detritus
Fermenting
Until one day
The green shoot
Of inspiration
In response to the daily prompt Incubate
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Continue readingA wrinkle by the eye
With a twinkle in
And that’s all you need to know
In response to the daily prompt Wrinkle
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Dreaming
Alone
Is not enough
Dreaming together
Greatly to be desired
But
Giving dreams substance
That is what’s required
Silence is Golden
Because it’s so very rare
Grab it while you can
In response to the daily prompt Noise
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Nature
Claws back its realm
Over many ages
Verdant fingers prying apart
Even
The strongest of our creations
With persistence of growth
Old and fertile
Mother
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 75: “PATIENCE & GREEN” #SNYNONYMSONLY
Had a go at a butterfly cinquain this time – and I had the perfect picture to go with it – one I took myself for a change.
#Cinquain #butterfly-cinquain
COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 75: “PATIENCE & GREEN” #SNYNONYMSONLY
Be yourself
Be true
Be uncompromising
We are told
Be open-minded
Listen to others
Find the common ground
We are told
Find the path
Through those
And you will be sorted
Or go mad
Trying
Simple
In response to the daily prompt Uncompromising
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
I watch the snow melt
The green shoots of grass rise up
To greet the new dawn
Taking a bracing shower
In glistening morning dew
In response to COLLEEN’S WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE, NO. 74: “RENEW & FRESH,” #SNYONYMSONLY
#Tanka
Bird on a branch
Are you resting
Are you watching
The world below
The people rushing here
And there
Along their crowded roads
With all their forks and cul de sacs
Fly on little bird
Fly on
In response to the daily prompt Branch
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Oh
For a restart button
A ctrl-alt-del
For some days
Some situations
Sometimes
For life
Must be the geek in me
I want to switch it all off
And back on again
In response to the daily prompt Restart
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Astral light guides
Cold and passionless
Cargos through the ages
Wood and steel
Fruit and bread
Flesh
To be sold
Along with the souls
Of the seller
In response to the daily prompt Astral
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Plainsong
Rolling, chanting
Granting the air a form
Bestow shadow and light purpose
Singing
The crafting of ancient wisdom
To bear us something new
Brightly shining
Lyric
In response to my daily prompt Craft
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Tempting like a tart
Sweet nectar awaits inside
So the dance begins
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #190 Tart&Sweet
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
The King of the West
With his golden crown
Encrusted with jewels and finery
Refuses to let it go
When the waters rise
So he is dragged
To the deep
In response to the daily prompt Encrusted
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Where is the litmus test?
The assay
Of our leaders
Mettle
Why must I strive
To prove
My worth
When they
Enjoy
No scrutiny
In their ancient
Empty halls
With their ancient
Empty way
In response to the daily prompt Assay
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Stars sparkle
Planets shine
Celestial bodies far from reach
The solars tantalise
Go for the shiners
Whose light is constant
The stars will ever taunt you
In response to the daily prompt Constant
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Embarking on a journey to write a poem every day for an entire year was both a formidable challenge and a deeply rewarding experience. The result of this endeavour is my collection, “A Spring of Dreams,” which comprises 365 poems that capture a wide spectrum of human emotion and thought.
Throughout this year-long odyssey, I explored various poetic forms, including haiku, sonnets, katauta, lanturnes, and free verse. Each poem became a reflection of my daily mood and experiences, resulting in a tapestry of themes that range from joy and love to sadness and grief.
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the constant demands on our time and attention. My hope is that these poems offer readers a brief respite—a moment to pause, reflect, and view the world from a different perspective. Whether you’re seeking solace, inspiration, or simply a moment of contemplation, I believe there’s something within this collection that will resonate with you.
I invite you to delve into “A Spring of Dreams” and discover the diverse emotions and stories woven throughout its pages. May it provide you with a small but meaningful escape from the stresses of daily life, offering a chance to reconnect with the beauty and complexity of the human experience.
In an era dominated by instant gratification and fleeting attention spans, I’ve endeavoured to defy the norm with my collection, Andervayne’s Dream and Other Poems. This anthology comprises five extensive poems, each crafted over time and for varied purposes, yet unified by their length and depth. Each piece presented a personal challenge: to maintain a high quality of writing over an extended narrative while adhering to strict structural constraints, all the while weaving compelling stories.
The collection includes:
In a world that urges us to hurry, hurry, hurry, this collection invites readers to slow down, immerse themselves, and find depth beyond the surface. It’s not a quick fix but a rewarding journey, encouraging contemplation and revisitation to uncover layers previously missed.
Embark on this poetic voyage and discover the depth and breadth of Andervayne’s Dream and Other Poems. Available now.
As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by the way words can capture the intangible—the fleeting emotions, the vivid moments, and the dreams that linger just out of reach. My poetry collection, The Colour of Dreams, is my attempt to explore these themes, to paint pictures with words and evoke emotions that resonate deeply.
This collection is a celebration of imagination and introspection. Each poem invites you into a world where reality blends seamlessly with the surreal, where the ordinary is transformed into something extraordinary. It’s a space where dreams take shape, emotions come alive, and the unspoken finds its voice.
In The Colour of Dreams, I’ve delved into the beauty and complexity of the human experience. The poems touch on themes of love and loss, hope and despair, joy and melancholy, all viewed through the lens of vivid imagery and lyrical expression. My goal was to create a collection that feels both personal and universal, offering something that each reader can connect with in their own way.
What sets this collection apart is its versatility. Whether you enjoy poems that tell a story, evoke a mood, or simply offer a moment of reflection, there’s something here for you. I’ve poured my heart into these pages, striving to create poetry that lingers in the mind and stirs the soul.
Writing this collection has been an incredible journey. Poetry, for me, is about discovery—not just of the world around us, but of ourselves. Through these poems, I hope to share that sense of discovery with you, to invite you to see the world through a different lens and perhaps even find new meaning in your own dreams and experiences.
If you’re looking for a collection of poems that speaks to the heart and sparks the imagination, I’d love for you to give The Colour of Dreams a place on your bookshelf. It’s a work I’m incredibly proud of, and I can’t wait for you to experience it.
Your support means so much to me, and I’d love to hear your thoughts after reading the collection. Whether a particular poem moves you, surprises you, or stays with you long after you’ve closed the book, I hope this collection offers you something special.
So, step into the world of The Colour of Dreams and let the journey begin. Discover what lies at the intersection of reality and imagination, and let the poetry take you somewhere new.
What lies beneath the surface of our waking lives? What secrets does the unconscious hold? These are the questions I explore in my poetry collection, The Well of Sunken Dreams. Writing this collection has been a journey through verses and a descent into the layers of human emotion, memory, and imagination.
Each poem in this collection represents a fragment of a greater whole, a shard of a mirror reflecting dreams both vivid and forgotten. Through these words, I’ve delved into universal themes of love, loss, and the passage of time, while striving to offer unique perspectives that challenge and inspire readers.
In a world dominated by fast-paced content and fleeting moments, I wanted to create something that invites readers to pause and reflect. The Well of Sunken Dreams isn’t meant to be hurried through; it’s designed to linger, to be reread, and to offer new discoveries with each visit.
My goal was to craft poetry that feels both accessible and profound, connecting deeply personal themes with universal resonance. For anyone seeking an emotional or intellectual escape, I hope this collection becomes a source of inspiration.
While every poem holds its own meaning, here are some of the aspects I’m particularly proud of:
Writing The Well of Sunken Dreams has been one of the most rewarding creative experiences of my life. Through my website, scottandrewbailey.com, I’ve shared this collection and other works that reflect my passion for exploring the depths of the human experience.
For me, poetry isn’t just about words on a page; it’s about the emotions and thoughts they evoke in the reader. With The Well of Sunken Dreams, I invite you to join me in exploring a world shaped by imagination and insight.
Are you ready to take the plunge? Visit scottandrewbailey.com to order your copy today and let yourself sink into the depths of my dreams.
Only hear the stream
Babbling toward the ocean
The breath of the air
In response to https://ronovanwrites.com/2018/02/19/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-189-zennoise/
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
The past is hazy but warm
The present cold, hard and discontented
The future unsure
The goal
The route
Hidden
In response to the daily prompt Present
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
The resplendent cock
Struts and crows, feathers rich red
While the hens scatter
In response to Colleen’s Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge, No. 71: Character & Affection, #SnyonymsOnly
#Haiku
Break it down
Into smaller chunks
The homework
Your daily work task
Your project
Your life
Until it is bits
Digital
And you never see
The whole again
Wherever words roam
Over fantastical lands
The heart rests at home.
Available as
or hardback
from Amazon
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.
Peace is the echo
Of the voice of the songbird
Across the still lake
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #185 Sing&Peace
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Costume
Armour
Suits
It all hides
What is really inside
In response to the daily prompt Costume
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
River slips quickly
Rolling by under the bridge
Until the freeze falls
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #188 Quick&Slip
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
The colours of the cross
Or the crescent
The sickle or the sun
Or nothing
They bring us together
To tear us apart
Make us belong
To a place
Where thoughts are handed out
With morals
But deeds are discouraged
Where greed is nurtured
And consummation
Perfected
Darkness abounds
All around
Never-ending
As far as the mind can see
Interspersed with light
Bright, beautiful, enchanting
Far-reaching and inspiring
But
Mostly there is darkness
All enveloping
Mysterious, powerful
Devouring
Darkness
A random ramble through riotous thoughts channelled through a strict poetic form with strange and unexpected results.
Follow the expanding maze of words and see where it leads you.
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 challenge 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.
A fantasy tale of a Knight’s struggles and adventures that is a veiled allegory for modern life. But what does it tell us? What do you take from it?
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 challenge 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.
Fly on clouds with fantastical characters in an escape from the everyday! This poem offers no secrets, no hidden, agenda and presents simply joy and fantasy for the sake of it. This is the child at play spraying words like water splashed from a puddle in ecstasy.
Take time out, enjoy and ease your troubled adult mind – find the child again.
The dream of a farm boy who is not allowed to dream, this epic poem is an allegory of something much deeper and more soul-searching. It appears fantastical and full of mythos and strangeness, but beneath it all are truths of everyday life and one hard reality.
Written in a strict style as a challenge to the author – grab yourself a copy and spend some quality time digging into the symbolism and hidden meanings to see what secrets and philosophies you might find.
This is the archaeology of life in poetic form.
The world has changed and that change has been for the better. People who were hidden are now seen. Inclusion is the way forward and we embrace all.
But some have been forgotten. Worse they have been labelled the instigators of the old ways, the bad ways. So they have been left behind – tarred with the brush of a small, powerful group of oppressors.
This collection partly examines this issue. It is not a complaint, not a wish for the old ways to return, but a way to start the conversation about what it means in the modern world to be white, male and middle-aged and how we need to come together with the rest of society again.
On another level, “The Well of Sunken Dreams” is a look at the betrayal of dreams that everyone of all creeds, sexes and colours feels these days. It asks what happened to the dreams we were promised?
Pick up a copy – join the conversation no one is having.
This collection of poems is a reflection of my thoughts about this and other darker aspects of modern life. In my other collections I like to balance this side of my ruminations with more optimistic explorations. This did not seem appropriate here. This is my equivalent of a grunge phase.
It also contains largely previously unpublished works that have not appeared anywhere else.
So, stick on those goth tunes and wallow in the well of sunken dreams.
The world is colours! There are sparks in raindrops that outshine any gems. Stars sparkle with greens and blues and reds! Light hums through stained glass. Flowers and butterflies dance in an ebullience of shades. The spectrum sings through our souls.
“The Colour of Dreams” is a collection of poetry that celebrates the colourfulness of life in all its glory. Pick up a copy in your favourite form and join in the revelry.
Immerse yourself in a poetic tapestry that weaves together a myriad of emotions and experiences, all connected by the vibrant thread of colour. This collection invites readers to explore the kaleidoscope of thoughts and moments that mirror the endless hues and diversity of our cosmic existence.
Our minds need respite. They need distraction but not mindless, not trash. They need feeding. We all know this. We all forget it.
There have been many times I have been stuck in the deep, cloying pool of stress or simply stuck on a problem I cannot solve. The resolution has most often been to do something else. Something that engages the mind differently. This frees your subconscious to solve the issues for you. So often after such a period, the solution presents itself.
Many great thinkers and creatives have employed this method. Both Darwin and Einstein for example took walks in the country and let their minds be engorged with its beauty. For others, it has been music.
I present here another option. Poetry. A whole collection in fact – one for each day of the year.
So when you’re stuck, or just in a fuzz that you need to shake – pick up “A Spring of Dreams”, read one poem – contemplate it. Give your mind the break it deserves.
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 end of the conversation
Is the end of the line
The rising of the fires
Of hostility and ire
So keep talking
Keep talking
In response to the daily prompt Conversation
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Hear the music
Of the spheres
Calling
Feel
The irresistible
Attraction
Of the singularities
Pulling
See the twinkle
The burst of life
Shrouded in the
Nebulous mists
Here the roar
Of the silent yaw
Of space
Here the call
The dare
Will we share
In the song
Or crack
Our own end
In response to the daily prompt Calling
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
The scarlet mountain
Hangs in the sky
The scarlet mountain
Lies
Through the blood
Of the mountain
All of us
Relate
This is the place
Dreams instantiate
Where the scarlet mountain
Dwells in the clouds
That is where
Hope flies
In response to the daily prompt Relate
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
The compass has no compassion
The waves care not
The road goes on forever
Whatever your feet yearn
Rest is not an option
For the currents will always win
Only those that fly
Will win
In response to the daily prompt Compass
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
The giant sun burns slow
Swells red and bloated, gassing
It’s life into space
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #180 Slow&Burn
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
From the unimaginable
Power
Of supermassive black holes
To the delicate
Dance of quarks
It all contains
Elegance
Beautiful and precise
In the conclusion of horror
And the breaking of joy
The shining of rain
And the sweep of the dune
From the swell of the tide
And the retreat
Elegance
Rules
In response to the daily prompt Elegance
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
Defying downing gravity
To delight in dazzling dance
Shimmering, shining sparkles
Showering tiny tears
In response to the daily prompt Sparkle
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
Brass gleams, drips with steam
Flaring in a beam of light
Driving on the wheel
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #179 Flare&Steam
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Daring the currents
Of the rare higher airways
Bold the eagle flies
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #178 Bold&Daring
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 