Poetry of Graeme Petterwood

The Word Painter

'Tis for himself a poet writes
To give life to thoughts that tumble
Though a mind that sees sights
Both great and humble
He sees all the dreams of Man
That are locked in each of us
With words he paints as best he can
The rest is up to us.

The Mingling

The same soft breaths that brush your lips
Will one day find their way to me
Perhaps entwined in gentle breezes or bustling wind
Then part of you will be a part of me.
Be you babe or sage, black or white
We all are really part of One
And your hopes and fears, loves and tears
Will mix with mine in total sum.
Those yet to come and those long since gone
Immortal now have thus become
For like the ripples in a pond
They live then softly merge to one.

Can it Be...?

Can it be.....?
That like the butterfly
I too will emerge with colours bright
One lonely day or starless night
You will not hear or see me
As to the Sun I fly
And leave my shell as I must
To wither crumbling in the dust.

What is Love?

What is Love?
Love can be the Colours and sounds of Life
Love can be a touch or an idea
Love is giving sometimes
Love is taking sometimes
Love is caring always
Love is a memory
Love is sweet, tender, strong
Love is Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Love is Everything
Love is All.

Shades of Mind

Shades of grey, lilac, blues, greens
Of trees, grass, flowers, skies
Sunlight, rain, earth and stone
All the colours I have known
Are locked in my mind like dreams
That bloom when mem'ry's seed is sown.

11/12/1976

Today no words came to me
So I sat back and watched
As clouds wrote signatures in the sky
And cheeky winds tousled trees
And birds like paintings soared on high
In a sky so blue you could cry.
Today no words came to me.

Senses

Have you ever felt the soft green touch of leaves
Or seen the swirling blue of Southern skies
Or smelt the warmth of Summer earth or fragrant rains
Or heard the quiet of country lanes.
Do you remember the feel of Youth
Or the vital touch of Love in Spring
That gentle touch that lingered on
When Love's hand had long since gone.
Do you know the feel of Life
The surge, the ache, the quiet inside
The feeling that all will blend in time
As Spirits grow and souls combine.

An Observation

Today, I watched the northern wind
As it playfully caressed the trees
Near my house.
It tickled them until they shook
Then ran through in a rush
To bend their boughs.
Sometimes it hid and would pounce
Like a kitten with string playing
It was a mouse.
Sway, bend and dance, Spring leaves
You are bright, strong and green on trees
Near my house.

Clouds

Countless faces changing
In a thousand different ways
A million swirling colours
I see in clouds each day
Evening grays are merging
To shades that have no name
And paint a moving masterpiece
To each is ne'er the same.

Kem

O, Thou Black Land of Kem,
Where Mother Nile flows ever on,
Thou hast called to me again
O, How long I have been gone.
I must return to the Land of Kings
From whence I wandered long ago,
My heart yearns for Thy fertile soil
O, Black Land, I miss Thee so.
O, Thou Black Land of Kem,
Thy name is like a draught of wine,
Where palms of dates now beckon
Like fingers to this land of mine.
The wheat so gold upon the land
The valleys, deserts, plains so green
Call with voices I have to heed
O, Black Land ,how far I've been.
O, Thou Black Land of Kem
While the Green Nile flows slowly on,
I will return to Thy Heart again
Ere this life of mine has gone.
So ready then the Cloths of Linen
The Book of Death can have it's start,
For I'll return to Thee forever
O, Black Land, we'll never part.

Dream on Forever

East of Uast and Mother Nile
At Apt, so great, I lay awhile
Whilst all the time despoilers sought
To end my dreams, and sleep cut short.
Akhet - aton is gone, forever
No memories strands are left to sever
Smenkh-ka-re, hath thou, too, flown
With Nu-t across the celestial dome?
O Horus, Maat - Who art Truth
Anubis, Nu-t - the world's Great Roof
I, who loves one Father, Aton Re
Now near Heka- ptah lay.
The Aton Spirit is safe at last
With Life forever, Let time go past
I dream my Dream, a life complete
'Til Re decrees, at last, we meet.

Future?

The pomp has now long gone
The tombs of the cities now stand empty
The only sound is the wind whistling
Through eons of dayless nights.

The Mighty Sun

That face that smiles it's smile on me
Has smiled that smile eternally
On Man and Beast and Earth and Tree
Who knows that smile may always be
At least until I cease to be
At one in body and in memory.

Winter Comes

The bright red fires of leaves are gone
With chill winds that herald coming time
When Autumn rains and mists make way
For grey bleak days to hold their sway.
It seems if Life must ebb and die
With all those trials that winter brings
But Death is but a fleeting thing
The rest before the reborn Spring.

How Welcome is the Sun?

How welcome is the Sun?
On a frost-crusted Winter morn
When the air is still at peace
And the light is soft new-born.
Hear the ice crackle with glee
As those warm fingers caress
And gently tease the tangles strands
Of sparkling webs in Winter dress.
See the green of trees emerge
From under their sheets of white
To glow with a million diamonds
To greet deliverance from night.
How welcome is the Sun?
On a frost-crusted Winter morn
As it brings day back again
To let us know Life reborn.

Since Time Began

The madding winds have gone
The Sun unfolds golden arms and shines
On trees now naked, unashamed,
Waiting in slumber for Spring's first signs.
O Spring, you are still so far away
But come you will as all Life can
With strength untried and so new
As it has been, since Time began.

Silent Thoughts

Silent thoughts that come unbidden
To circle through my mind
Slip into being quietly and then just as quietly go
Those secret thoughts that only God and I can know.
My hopes, my hates, my loves, my fears
Are locked deeply in my soul
To rise when least expected like bubbles in the wine
I do not know the reason for these lonesome thoughts of mine.
Perhaps in distant lands or times
I lived, or loved, too well
The memory lingers on, perhaps, in some deep hidden place
To bring again that haunting shadow of a face.

You

I know you
From deep inside
And long ago
The windows of your soul
Are open to me
Like a child's eyes
Your warmth reaches out
To embrace me again
Like an old friend.