By Scott Bailey © 2014

Living to please
Rather than to be
More on show
Than on the prowl
But in the beating
Heart and genes
Waits the hunter

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Staring down the barrel
Of everyday life
Wondering how long the fuse will last
Tensing to dodge
The final bang
Never can

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

With my lens
Capture the beach
Only to find
A watcher
Staring back
What does it see
The watcher from the sea

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Shining steel
A grill like a grin
Of the shark that killed you

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Defying the cold
In blue and gold
Vanity knows no bounds

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Mysteries of the deep
Simple and unique
Floating by in waves
Who knows what it saves
Deep in its memories
Deeper mysteries

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Back and forth
Criss-crossing
Thick and thin
Loose and taut
A complexity of lines
Just
To go forward

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Food and heat and warmth
Constant needs that connect us
To ancestors old

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Like broken teeth
Unmaintained
No longer useful
Yet
Somehow
Pleasing to the eye
Leading us
To who knows where

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Rock in the flow
Water jumps high
Rock is steadfast
Water jumps for joy
Time passes
Rock is worn to sand
Water flows serene

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Climbing
Slowly to the sky
Many years
Many lives
Reaching for the canopy
We rise
Will we be spared
The axe

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Into the hole
Drawn in by the urge
To know
Waiting
Are fangs

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Brass
Steam
Steel
Coal
Old
Times
Warm
Smells
Thudding
Down the rails

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Dissecting darkness
Silver shining score
Weaving across the night
Hanging, trembling, shimmering
Waiting for
A hapless fly
To wrap up and serve
As an artist’s
Main course

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Heart beneath blue skies
Bluer than the deep blue sea
Rage into the stars

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Stacked high and waiting
All ready to be consumed
And give out their warmth

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

A pewter dragon in the dust
Some curling chains turned to rust
Some old bones stacked in line
A bone comb with a broken tine

Ritual gifts or just waste
Theorise with too much haste
Maybe let the question go
Maybe let the mystery grow

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Beacons of hope in darkness
Shining from afar
Reaching out to guide us
But one is fitful and passing
The other faithfully burns
And as always
Nature surpasses invention
The beacon of life shines on

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Hurrying, cramming in, rush rush rush
Preparing for tomorrow is all
By the time it’s done
Tomorrow is already gone
And so the cycle goes
On and on

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

The world we live in
The very structures of our lives
Built upon gold
But gold is so soft
So who the hell
Made that decision

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

To glimpse a snippet
Of the incomprehensible
Just take a look
At the white cliffs
Reaching up from the sea
The result
Of trillions and trillions of tiny deaths
Life
Has been here so long
It has built
Landscapes

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

There are holes
In everyone’s hearts
Some are big
Made by lives fulfilled
And long
Some are small
Short and brief
Somehow
The smaller
Hurt more

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Brass cantilever
Golden cogs and diamond heart
Magic seconds pass

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

The sun setting large
A swollen ball of fire
Birds settle to roost

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Two esteemed academics
In high-definition
In a stately home
Discussing Disraeli

Meanwhile
In another land
Another world
A young girl awakes
In the slum
Steels herself
For another long day of work
Man after man after man

And in between the two?

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Knowing what has gone
Savouring what is to come
Surfing in between

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Black swan gliding
Over serene waters
But still
The reflection looks disturbed

White swan slipping
Over icy lake
Frozen
To the heart

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

The presence of cages does not reassure
Just confirms that there’s danger inside
So the rules on expenses just confirms the fear
That the vultures are circling once more

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

One Cara Pilkington-Smythe
A dancer once young and lithe
Left the stage behind one day
Decided on a new way
Married an Oxford star
Together they went far
He conquered financial seas
She blew in like a breeze
To the corridors of power
A bee drawn to a flower
Sipping the nectar sweet
The world was at her feet
They had all they desired
No contingency required
Beautiful homes in beautiful vales
For them, their parents, easy sale
Perfect schooling for their son
Their family secure, every one.
Parties, holidays, swelling banks
Clever accountants give them thanks
Hide away the tax they’d lose
Living how and where they choose
But then the rain started falling
When the scandal came a calling
The houses paid for with expenses
Squirreled out from the benches
Made up claims and other tricks
The media brings names and sticks
Now their lives are not the same
Now they now live with the shame
With their reputation now bereft
It would seem nothing’s left
Except the houses and the wealth
And fine wine to toast their health
And education to ensure
The offspring’s path will be pure
And the network of protecting hands
And the ever-growing lands
And the secret contemptuous laugh
That may be their epitaph

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

In the deep deep dark
Where pressure builds all around
Scarce light is precious

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Yellow meadow bright
In one corner, rusty red
An old iron shed

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

The wild tiger caged
Is more dangerous than those
Who roam in their realm

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Where my heart does dwell
In misty old woodland dell
Where wolves and stags roam

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Green river long
Green river wide
Green river deep
Rolling on by
Thoughts dropped in
Like pebbles of time
No ripples betray the loss
Of a thought
Carry them far
To the distant sea
Maybe one day
A stranger will see
Them on a distant shore
And set them free

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Made of crystal
So clear
It can hardly be seen
The breadth of seven men
The height of the clouds
The top unseen
Inside
Sparking and crackling
Impossible
Bright and pure
It is filled with
Starfire
For miles around
The land knows no dark
Ever
The question might be asked
Why it was built
Were there anyone around
To ask it

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Trees
Shifting
High winds howl
Whistling, screaming
The trunks are strong, sturdy and hold the ground

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

In an old tractor tyre
A circle of friends
Dwarfed and reverent
In that magic time
Between day and night
The twilight
With new-born stars twinkling
And potential enchantment
Humming in the deep blue sky
Disappointed by the call
To bedtime

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

The free market
It pervades every part of our lives
Every fabric of our society
Why
Why did we choose
To put all the power
Into the hands of the few
Greedy individuals
Powerful because of their greed
Who’s great idea was that?

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

The heart is the drummer
The lungs a violin
You bring on a timpani roll
That rumbles to my feet
For you I am an orchestra
Though I often clang and clash
I hope my humble melody
Might catch your heart
In a dance

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Rain falls down
And I like it
All around
In the air
Soaks me down
To the bone
Washes sorrow
Far away
Those who eyes
Despise the weather
Don’t know joy
In the rain
A day’s a day
Weather’s weather
Drink it in
In every way

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Consuming and not creating
Planning and not making
Thinking without doing
This is the path they took
Into the undergrowth of
Tape and law and greed
So now in panic
They are fighting their way out
Cutting, cutting, cutting.

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Bubblepot the cat
Decided it was enough
So stole mankind’s keys

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Everyday
Everyday
The wistful mist
Rolls on its way
Following
The winding trail
Along the twisting
Shallow vale
Rolling down
From dew green hills
Pausing by
Abandoned mills
Sinking slowly
To the sea
Dissipating
Energy
Underlining
Morning green
Making bursting
Life serene
Until it rises
Into the air
Joining with
The clouds somewhere
Becoming one
Losing shape
From narrow trail
It does escape
Now no more
Gone away
Now no more
Gone away

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Take out my brain
Drain my dreams and aspirations
Remove the need for rest
The requirement to switch off my thoughts
Make me a robot
And everyone else
Will be happy

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Watching him dance
Watching him move
Sometimes tired
Sometimes in the groove
But always with the zeal
Of four years of age
May it always grow
May it never fade

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Once I was a seed
Bursting with potential
Waiting to spring out
From darkness into light

Once I was a sapling
Fresh and green and quivering
Stretching up with hope
To the bright blue sky

Once I was a tall stiff tree
Sturdy, proud and strong
Branches reaching all directions
Roots dug deep and true

Now I am an autumn leaf
Tossed upon the wind
My direction is not my whim
When I land…

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Hunting or hunted
Running through trees all my days
To find a still rest

Originally published in A Spring of Dreams