Rough sleeper
Homeless
Beggar
Bum
This is not
How your life was begun
Not what was planned
For your mother’s son
What path do you follow
On life’s winding track
Your only possessions
The clothes on your back
Huddled in doorways
Prey to the cold
Your face lined and wrinkled
Though not all that old
Now night has ended
Forgetfulness gone
A new day of struggle
As you must
Move on

(Street life in a Welsh city)

©opusangelicus 2014

Mewling babe
At mother’s breast
For her child
She wants the best

Skinny girl
With tiny waist
Boyish hips
Thoughts so chaste

Too soon all grown up
Lithe and strong
Pose for photos
Nothing on

Drinking cocktails
Dance the night
Coming home
At dawns first light

Suitors come
And make her sigh
A special one
That caught her eye

Raise a family
Struggle to cope
Happy days
Yet always broke

Kids moved on
Re-educate
learn new skills
Never too late

Painting pictures
Write a book
Throw dinner parties
Fabulous cook

Sail the ocean
Fly a kite
Middle aged
But full of life

Ride a Harley
Drive a car
Visit countries
Travel far

Climb a mountain
Tame a horse
Dote on grandkids
In due course

Lost one husband
Gained another
Been wife mother
Healer lover

A whirlwind life
With so much done
So much sorrow
So much fun

That old lady
In the street
Frail and shuffling
Slippered feet

Hold no contempt
Respect you give
You might be young
But she has lived!

©opusangelicus 2014

The harbour’s dead
Tide long fled
Boats leaning
This way that
Stranded
High and dry
Upon thick mud
And sand
The quiet stillness
Broken only by
The plaintive cries
Of lonely gulls
And rigging
Tip-tapping
On the masts.
The fishermen
Tucked up
With wives
Now safe abed
(Though to the sea
In truth are wed)
Asleep until
Before dawns light
When tide returns
And they set sail
From
Port

(Photo by the author)
© opusangelicus 2013

The fishing baskets
Stink and reek
Of all the things
They once did keep
Caught by the
Tangled webs of rope
The fisherman did weave
Lobster
Crab
Langoustine
And things that I
Have never seen
The bounty of
The ocean deep
A story told
In the
Stink and reek
Of
Fishing
Baskets

(Photo by the author)
© opusangelicus 2013

The wronged
Who sit
In dark corners
Insecure
Resentful
Unable to see the
Good in others
They lash out
Attacking
Aggressively
Hurting where it’s
Not necessary
Their un-kindness
A mask
To hide
Their pain
At being
The wronged
Who sit
In dark corners….

© opusangelicus 2013

I wandered lonely on the beach
Mile after mile of golden sand
And came across a maiden fair
Combing her flowing auburn hair
With a skeletal hand

My heart within me solid froze
As I watched this grisly sight
Of those bleached bones
Being used as combs
Fear readied me for flight

Then she turned and looked at me
Held me fast with steady gaze
Come sit and be with me awhile
She said with such a welcome smile
I stumbled forward in a daze

An Angel’s voice to me did speak
Take not another step brave man
As it will be your last I fear
For she is death that you draw near
And she will claim you if she can

The scales lifted from mine eyes
Her true self then I saw
Where sat before a comely maid
Now sits a vision from the grave
Her smile a rictus maw

I turned and ran as she called out
It matters not to me
As we shall meet again one day
For death doth over all hold sway
And I shall come for thee

Now in the autumn of my years
I think back upon that awful day
When Heavens’ Angel rescued me
Giving me the strength to flee
And Deaths’ fell hand did stay

© opusangelicus 2013

A kiss

So deep

So passionate

So sensual

It burns your lips

Searing an imprint of my desire on your flesh

That you’ll feel for days afterwards

Igniting a fire in your soul

And deep between your legs

That rages out of control

And cannot be extinguished

That consumes you utterly

And marks you indelibly as mine

That wipes out all thought

Of others from your mind

Enthralling you

Enchanting you

Claiming you

Possessing you

Because it’s

So sensual

So passionate

So deep

A kiss

© opusangelicus 2013

Our lives won’t last forever, this is a fact.

When the day comes for us to separate, don’t be sad if I go before you, for I know what waits in store for us.

I will wait for you in Paradise, patiently watching for your spirit, marking the hours until the time comes for you to join me.

On that glorious day we will rush together full of joy, arms stretched wide and fall into a passionate embrace!

As we kiss and caress, our spirits will fuse into one and with a blinding flash of light, a new star will be born in the night sky and everyone on Earth will look up in wonder and know that two lovers have finally united together for all time, never more to be apart.

© opusangelicus 2013