Gavin Whyte's Blog, page 13

Playing the Shield (A Poem)

It’s amazing,

the amount of power

the perceptions of others has

over your own self-image.

It’s even more amazing

when you realise

that their perceptions of you are completely wrong,

and always have been,

because they based them on who they thought you were;

and these perceptions were coloured

and tainted by

(among other things)

their own insecurities

about their own self-image.

They were projecting on you to protect themselves,

and you gave them permission,

albeit unknowingly,

to use you as a shield.

But the shield was weak,

or it simply wasn’t as strong as you thought it was.

And so you took onboard their perceptions of you

as your own perceptions of yourself.

How wrong you were.

Forgive (always),

but don’t forget (never)

just in case it happens again,

and you need to be a shield,

this time for yourself,

not for them.

*

Blessings.

Gavin

 

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Conversant (3x Haiku)

Are you conversant

with all that my nature holds?

Please think carefully.

*

Are you conversant

with all that your nature holds?

Please reconsider.

*

Don’t conclusion jump,

because if you do then I

will only copy.

*

Blessings.

Gavin

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A Burning Flame (Haiku)

Enlighten yourself,

a burning flame in the dark.

Do not be afraid.

*

Blessings.

Gavin

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The Cowering Earth Dog (Poem)

The firecrackers start

to welcome the year of the Earth Dog,

though the celebrations make every dog cower and whimper.

The countryside is peaceful, and then:

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

This happens all day and night,

for several days.

Why?

I was told everyone is given an allotted time,

and so when their time comes

they release the firecrackers.

Why?

So the gods will notice them,

and bless them for the coming year.

“Look at me!”

BOOM!

“And me!”

BOOM! 

I see a stray dog,

with four legs

and three paws,

and it’s brown,

just like they say the Earth Dog is;

and it looks at everyone passing by,

and says with flattened ears and big eyes,

“What-

BOOM!

“about-

BOOM!

“me?”

*

Blessings,

Gavin

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Encrusted (Haiku)

Turning a blind eye

only leads to encrusted

feelings and neighbours.

*

Blessing,

Gavin

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Colourful Smiles (200-Word Flash Non-Fiction)

Bonfire night.

As was the annual tradition, you and your family were across the road, at your grandparents’ house.

You walked across the green (the patch of grass that separated the two sides of the horse-shoe-shaped col-de-sac), with the air full of mysterious smoke, and the sky full of friendly explosions.

Jacket potatoes were in the oven, wrapped in tinfoil, with a dollop of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper for company. It was the first thing you smelt.

Homemade toffee was in the baking tray, gooey and sweet.

You sat on the coal shed, with your sister and cousins, looking up at the sky. You only made sounds of awe; it was difficult to speak with your mouth glued shut with toffee.

Your dad, uncles, and grandad took turns lighting the fireworks, about ten feet away from where you were sitting.

Your grandad lit his with the glowing tip of his cigarette.

Up the fireworks went. Their echoes reached the ends of the earth and came back to you in no time at all.

The one thing you remember so clearly is seeing all of your family together, looking up, with their smiles a multitude of colours.

*

Thanks for reading.

Blessings.

Gavin

 

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The Voice (Haiku)

Don’t believe that voice

that thinks it knows who you are—

nothing but shadows.

*

 

Blessings.

Gavin

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Compromise (4x Haiku)

Shall I compromise,

or close my ears to your cries?

You are the unwise!

*

I sob tsunamis

and shake the land with my loss.

Please don’t make me cross.

*

It’s about giving

and taking what you must take,

and not an ounce more.

*

So, what do you think?

Are we in this together?

Will you compromise?

*

Blessings.

Gavin

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Spears & Stars (A Poem)

Some had bows and arrows,

and bells that jingled from their waists;

walking in a semicircle,

with arms interlocked,

they kicked and lunged and yelled,

and followed the shadows in the mountains

that were watching them—

watching us all;

they sang to the stars,

wild songs of courage and torment,

they wanted to be understood

by a world that has lost touch with itself;

hands pointed skyward,

a child had accidentally let go of her balloon,

we all watched the night swallowing it up,

and imagined it popping on a star,

with nobody to hear its final exhale;

the girl’s friend deflated her balloon

to save it from the same fate;

many children walked past me,

the foreigner,

the one with the white face and hairy arms,

staring at me, with a laser-like gaze;

three of them,

all at different occasions,

in their own world,

without an audience,

with no mischievous snickering coming from anybody,

with no malicious intent,

with genuine kindness and curiosity,

simply placed a hand on me,

whether it was on my shoulder or my head,

and left it their for a second or more,

as if blessing me,

and carried on with the event,

a celebration of their people.

*

Inspired by the Paiwan festival we recently attended in the mountains of Taiwan.

Blessings

Gavin

(The photo of Taiwan was taken by )

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Stand Tall (Haiku)

It’s okay to smile

when things all about you fall.

Be brave and stand tall.

*

Blessings.

Gavin

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