Poems by Author



Oldfield, Brenda M


Words, Oh Sweet Words


Words, oh sweet words

You brighten me, and you enlighten me
You care to be spoken
Whilst embracing me, to listen

Words, oh sweet words

Your essence in harmony, animates my motions,
Which synchronise images, of your timeless notions
Thus, your melody sings, an echo of mine
The rhythms I be, sculpt, a silhouette of thine

Words, oh sweet words

Your poetic charms, solidify, my keynote affections
Soothed, by a stillness, in your lucid dimensions
Ah, your splendour in meaning, truly comforting
The tenderness, in your gentle tones, deeply touching

Words, oh sweet words

You’re music to my ears, like the joys, of my youth
Understanding’, is the maestro, of your truth,
Composing my bliss, brighter than, the stars above
Aye, my wisdom is awakened, by your lingo of love

Words, oh sweet words

You are the harvest, nourishing my will
Seducing my thoughts, like an open daffodil
Refining my goodness, in stormy kinships
Securing my needs, connecting my friendships

Words, oh sweet words

As you synthesise, my imagination leaps
When you’re playful, I laugh in hearty heaps
Console and I devour, your healing delights
Unite and I inhale, your energising insights

Words, oh sweet words

Without you, how could I,
Create a lullaby, classify and simplify
Hear my senses, or write these lines, so inclined
Even caress my emotions, and placate my mind

Words, oh sweet words

Oh yes, you set me free, to communicate
Neither good nor bad, you just create,
But, only man’s follies, deem you so
Eclipsed only, by your resplendent flow

Words, oh sweet words

Without you, who could I be? A loud bore
Gibbering without heed, like some squealing boar
Ah, what would I do? Rally, on my tenterhooks,
For your symbols in life, in kindness, and in books

Words, oh sweet words

Because of you, I can breathe
Mankind’s highest joys, thus you bequeath
A symbiosis, despite my greed, to hear thy guide
Rendering me a voice, so together we abide

I live by you! I am you! Oh sweet, incarnate words


Oldfield, Brenda M


Death


Death, O come, hear my pulse, fears
Laid waste to thy ears, to beget strife,
To steal, to descend, with thy beastly
Claws, of iron despair! To burst life,
Like a bubble, thrust into thin air!

Death, O life’s full! Not an empty bubble
Thy thieving void, that’s the big trouble!

So do not haunt me, O mean death,
In thy wrath, in thy smug, wintry eyes,
Spitting cold images, into mine own
To freeze, to burn inside, with toxic cries!

Death, O erode me no more, I drown,
In thy torrential rivers, of pain and grief
O part me not from loved ones, O never,
It floods me in terror, there’s no relief!

Death, O life’s full! Not an empty bubble!
Thy thieving void, that’s the big trouble!

Death, O do not oppress me, I suffocate,
Under thy wheels of steel, heaving sadness,
Grinding my being, my tears, my passions
To hail, to meet, to be dreaded emptiness!

Aye, I must submit to thee, O death,
To thy cruelty, to thy surreal silhouette
Ah! But all sorrows and, all fears depart,
Exhaled in my very last, gentle breath!

Death, O life’s full! Not an empty bubble!
Thy thieving void, that’s the big trouble!

Death, O recoil then, thy ashen curtains,
Spurning no more, this voice so grim
But cheers heard, of thy sister, Rebirth
She nurtures life, like a happy poem!

O death, dance to belonging, not longing,
Not bellowing, for unreal below or, above,
But leaping on earth, with a child’s heart,
Feeling warm memories, of selfless love!

Death, O you’re not this big trouble,
But a love of life, in a sturdy bubble,
Girded by life, brimming with love!


Oldfield, Brenda M


I have Loved and Lost


I have loved and lost, loved and lost
My love a cursed cost, a cursed cost
Crushed beneath such weighted pain
Bright dreams fled, a torture to sustain

Can it be, the pleasures of my Self, so let down?
For it’s the joys I gave, the jewels of my crown
My caring goodly self, and carefree mind,
Voices great memories, I must now lay behind

The touch of love’s affections, now deemed to run
And I don’t know why, why this must be done
Ah, but love’s a desire, that refills an empty cup
She beckons sweetly, that I must dearly sup

The mighty light of love, to perish this darkness
Giving me breath, to silence, my weeping and sadness
O light of love, I hear echoes, echoes of my all within
A serene guitar strumming, that love can now begin

Amidst yesterday, tomorrow, and always for today
Burning brighter, that love will not decay
Begetting new life, by the life of love
Spreading its wings, far and wide, up and above

For love seeds, and it grows, like a dandelion
Determined to live, wherever, whenever it has fallen
Oh I have not lost, because I have loved and lost!
But because I’ll love again, despite, the cursed cost!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Free Our Children, From Religion


Oh weep! For our children, so chastised, so beset,
So hidden! By subterfuge masks, and rigid rituals
So driven! By this primitive, religious mindset
So masquerading! As emotional, and rational unity,

Oh pity! The relentless Bowing! Praying! Dreaming!
Kneeling, in mindless obedience! To gods, stone deaf
Rocking, like shamans! To spirits, so very scheming
Toiling, wedged in cages! Of self-deceit, and alienation

Oh see this almighty, demolition! Of creative actions
Oh gulp as gospel! Infernal guilt, and self-scourging,
Oh hear such sorrows! Of delusions, and dejections
Oh feel, this smug bleeding! Of young minds, and bodies

Oh, must a child, be burdened, be so shackled?
With pre-historic thoughts, lacking guts, to nurture
Nature, instilling instead, schisms, to be manacled,
By nightmares, that linger, so very heathenish

Might such sins, not be expunged, by a wisdom?
Of this plague, infesting, the emotions and intellect,
Of our children, often cruelly, that who can so fathom?

Listen, to their cries, screams and pleas, oh so bleak
For such laments, oh, so silently! So often speak:

Oh unleash these veils! These burdens, of mighty duration
Our minds cheated, by sophistry’s grief, so tormented,
Weighted down, generation, after generation,
With dire religious, wars, and dogma,

For drown! Drown we must, in this sea, of ignorance
Our innocence, wrecked, so devoured by fear,
A commandment, a father of violence,
Spitting! Spewing! “Go forth, live by hatred!

Thus we’re forced-fed! Oh, with such bigotry
Not breathing respect! But choking, on this bitter law
Canonised, unrepentantly! In religious, indoctrination
Our beings, ensnared, misled, and bullied, oh so raw
Yet be patronised! To love and respect, our oppressors?

Free us children!
Feed the joys! Of intellectual, selfhood
Enlighten! ‘Freedom to question’
Protect us! From senseless, brainwashing

How, do we resist, the slaying of our trust, the deadly factions?
Oh how, can we stifle, these twisted flames, of fanaticism?
Must we nourish, our own childhood, our own affections?
Yet be patronised! To love and respect, our betrayers?

Free us children!
To live! Believing in others, so evade escapism
Enlighten! ‘Social skills, of communication’
Protect us! From the mania, of coercion

Do we seek, clear-sightedness, or submit, to blind-eyes?
Must we spurn, the art of query, this angel of confidence?
Should we be wise, or be spouting, the venom of lies?
Yet be patronised! To love and respect, our deceivers?

Free us children!
Energise! The purity, and sincerity, of our hearts
Enlighten! Creative, self-expression
Protect us! From demonic preaching

Oh yes! We earth children begin, with such gladness
But end up, day after day, with nauseating sadness
Nurturing our nature, unwittingly, undermined
Recognising our feelings, tirelessly, trivialised
Yet be patronised! To love and respect, our detractors?

Free us children!
Communicate! With our beings, not your gods
Enlighten! ‘Understanding’
Protect us! From evil fatalism, and egotistic, fantasies

Oh suffer us children, no more! Suffer us, no more!
With gods’, sexual duplicity, and sexist ferocity
Lurking behind, false frocks, and murky morality

Are, our baby faces, locks and smiles, so risible?
That they be, morphed, religiously invisible
Must a child’s, mere life, body and clothing?
Become the brunt, of cardinal deceit, and mockery?
Be responsible, for gratifying, carnal foibles, and treachery?
Yet be patronised! To love and respect, our tormentors?

Free us children!
Oh respect! Respect our dignity, and integrity
Enlighten! ‘Kindness and empathy’
Protect us! From wretchedness, and deviousness

Oh stop, the barbaric rituals, the daily intimidations,
The morbid fasting, the heinous, body mutilations
A wilful wickedness, crucifying, our sentient beings
Yet be patronised! To love and respect, our torturers?

Free us children!
Endow each child! With health and happiness
Enlighten! ‘Humanity’s wisdom’
Protect us! From the grim recycling, of pain, and misery

Oh reach out! Help us embrace, a love of learning!
With heads, hearts and minds, reconciled with trust!
Our nature to commune! With self and others, uplifted!
Our paths to the altar! Of self-autonomy, rejuvenated!
So gather these fruits! To merely, fortify our lives!

Free us children!
Invigorate! Our human potential, so abandon pessimism
Enlighten! ‘Self-belief, and reason’
Protect us! From self-destruction, and ignorance

Oh why? Why must us children, be burned in hell? So damned!
So painfully! So often! So literally! By fire! By bloody bullets!

So please! Oh please, shelve religion! To historical books,
Of aged tribalism, of sacrificed infants! Thus ordained!
To never fear! Our feelings and lives, bodies and ‘looks’

Hitherto a future! Shining with knowledge, by this tree
Of testing truth, guiding actions, speaking kindness
A life! Where fragile minds, be divinely, oh so free
The sanctuary! Of our growing bodies, oh, so sheltered
By tenderness, and security, wisdom, and sincerity

A life worthy! Of peace, of purpose, of compassion!
A life worthy! Of no more gods, or phantoms!
A life worthy! For each and every Child, oh so precious!
A willing triumph, of life, and love, truly nurtured


Oldfield, Brenda M


Free Our Children, From Materialism


Oh must this world, mutate our children?
Into mere, cold-blooded cogs,
Entrapped, unceasingly, in mass materialism
Sensations blasted, without relief,
On that assembly-line, of greedy, consumerism

Oh feel! The rhythm of young bodies, whipped
Into a frenzied noise, frothing, oh so mindlessly,
By some pre-historic, ritualistic, mindset, unequipped,
So deprived, of emotional, and rational unity

Oh see! The hounding, the pestering,
The overwhelming onslaught, to accumulate
And absorb, innumerable facts, oh so exactly,
In a factory, forging this gluttony, oh so beastly,
To forever guzzle, umpteen objects and things

Oh hear! Laughter and play, this stress-shield,
Sadly replaced, by force-feeding, such dopey ‘stuff’,
Pummelling, like clockwork, oh so forbidding
What is this process, of evolution, oh so foreboding?
Immersed in anxiety, and ignorance, of children’s needs

Oh weep! For little hearts and heads, unduly divided
Thinking and feelings, oh so cruelly, separated
In some, empty reservoir, of mind, and bodily needs

Seek there and find, the crippling emotions
Engulfing, poor health, eating identities, oh, so mistaken
Skills of empathy, of self-expression, oh, so forsaken
Resonating, some autistic, robotic enslavement

Remnants, perhaps, of a primitive melee,
Regurgitating minds, oh so splintered:
The signals of emotions, oh so, misunderstood
The repertoire, of language, so like, dead wood
Thinking stretched, above and beyond, reason

Such is the Old, Brave New World, of children
Happiness? Cursed, by aged alchemy, so mind-altering
Knowledge? Doomed, to be greedy, and so controlling

A self-defeating, self-medicating armoury
Of acting before thinking, reducing this bedrock,
Of relating, of communication,
To self-derision, and social isolation

So borne, by the predatory tools, of mechanisation
Begetting, a fatigue, an exponential, subversion
Of bonding, biological, and social connections
Evoking that ugly, dichotomy of nature, and nurture

Can we not, feel?
The sleep deprivation, the chronic tiredness!
Or hear, the mighty mantra?
“Education teaches, money, status and stuff

Can we not, see?
The celebrity, idolisation, the media treadmill!
This maelstrom, smelling
Of vanity, and violence, guns and drugs

Can a child, dream?
Fat wallets, big appetites, and delusions of grandeur!
Or touch?
Dysgenic knives, to mortify imperfections, so facile

Can a child, swallow whole?
That wearisome baggage,
Of man’s obsessions, and possessions!
Oh how, can a child grasp?
These grinding wheels, of tragedies, and trivia!

For therein, lurk shadows, oh so indelible,
To the lives of children, deceived, oh so defrauded,
By a rampant betrayal, of the power of knowledge
Where learning, and respect, is lauded
As fame, pride and greed

Could this not be, a dire failure, to recede?
Our children’s fears, and vulnerabilities
Threatening, their sincerity, and kindness,
Humility, love and goodness

Oh yes, knowledge, may be the means, the way
To cultivate, children’s health, and happiness
Yet, this wisdom, seems hidden, like gold-dust,
Unseen, by so many eyes, oh so careless

Might the world not weep?
For this blindness, this state of affairs,
Our babies blinded, by tears of deception
Their senses, silenced, into submission

So burrowed, in societies, by too many adults,
Indulgent, authoritarian, indifferent
Substituting, a caring, loving, environment
For insecurity, instability, and unpredictability
Lacking support, acceptance, and involvement

So cried! This modern handmaiden, of feral selfishness,
Let’s stand up, shout on rooftops, for our children
Left mourning, the joys of childhood, oh, so silently
Left shouldering, this world, oh, so relentlessly,
With over-pulsating hearts, and troubled minds

Let’s empower, our children, responsibly!
Pinned, to human empathy! Oh, so tenderly!
Listen! Oh just listen!

Can we children, cry forever, over man’s mistakes?
Oh must we, must we be born, inherently wise?
To mans’ trials, and tribulations, addictions, and disputes
Miseries forbidding us, to feel and think, rest and play

Listen up! New shamans, you masters of the world,
All bodies! Begin and learn! Indeed, necessitated,
Early! In childhood, in memories, so deeply-rooted!

Yet, must we forever, forgive, love, respect those, who?
Ignorantly, or spitefully! Neglect, belittle, and distort,
What we remember! What we feel! What we do!
Must we be left! Unsung! Unseen! Unheard?

Oh, will we ever, be free, us children?
Given health, not wealth, rising forth
By an understanding, of our needs
Enriched by a sense, of belonging
Wanted, cared for, in compassion

Remember! Oh remember!
The parentage, of humanity
Remains forever, us children


Oldfield, Brenda M


Free To Live, Us Children


Us children have a need
To be nurtured! By others
Thus we learn! To ‘nurture ourselves’
So we relate! To others
Free to live! In mutual respect

Us children have a need
To be raised! With love
Thus we learn! To ‘love ourselves’
So reflect! Humanity’s compassion
Free to live! Surrounded by love

Us children have a need
To be taught! To ‘think for ourselves’
Thus we learn! To ‘think before acting’
So we are mindful! Of our actions
Free to live! Harmoniously with all

Us children have a need
To be reared! With affection
Thus we learn! Feelings of tenderness
So empathise! With others
Free to live! Without judging

Us children have a need
To have our voices, heard!
Thus we learn! ‘How to listen’
So communicate! With skill
Free to live! Socially connected

Us children have a need
To be bestowed! With self-control, (not controlled)
Thus we learn! To ‘problem-solve’
So cope! With life’s blows
Free to live! Socially competent

Us children have a need
To be allowed! To freely play, laugh and read
Thus we learn! ‘How to learn’
So reach out! Towards the future
Free to live! By autonomy, and self-fulfilment

Us children have a need
To be cared for! Without stress and anxiety
Thus we learn! “The wisdom, of our bodies’
So protect us! From ‘ill-health’
Free to live! Without undue pain

Us children have a need
To be fostered! Without fear
Thus we learn! To repel hatred, and sadness
So treat others! With acceptance, and kindness
Free to live! Without bigotry and bullying

Us children have a need
To be brought up! With trust
Thus we learn! How to be honest
So see! ‘The best in others’
Free to live! With humble self-confidence

Us children have a need
To be tutored! By knowledge
Thus we learn! To seek wisdom of truth
So create! Human understanding
Free to live! Without vulnerabilities, and fear of the unknown

Us children have a need
To deny, the bullying, tactics! Of religion and materialism
Thus we learn! To humanise, not dehumanise
So form human bonds! Which are trusting and lasting
Free to live! Without threats and lies

Us children have a need
To live without abuse! Verbal, smacking or violence,
Thus we learn! Not to hurt, or humiliate others
Free to live! Without the tragic web, of self-destruction

Us children have a need
Never to be treated! As social rejects!
As monetary, and sexual objects!
Or status, and ‘honour’, accessories!
So hear our cries! “No more enslavement!”
Free to live! Surrounded, by comfort and safety

Us children have a need
To be recognised! Accepted! And understood!
Thus we learn! Not to feel alone, or be scared
Free to live! Without helplessness and fear of rejection

Us children have a need
To be parented! By those who chose,
To bring us, into this world, and who,
Can enrich our lives! With unconditional love!
Undivided attention! And freedom of choice!

Thus we learn! How to be responsible
Free to live! Without shouldering, the risible
Burdens, of man’s “Psycho-history”
Eclipsed only, by loving, and empathetic parenting

Us children cry! Not for an ideal world
But one effective, in shielding us!
From neglect, cruelty, and the mind games
Of unscrupulous, predation, and powers
From war and conflict, and its horrors

Rather, a socio-evolutionary world, where knowledge
Trumpets, brings to fruition, the joys and the gains,
The compassion, and the needs, so deeply enshrined
In nature and nurture! Of us children! Of all humankind!

Thus willingly, together, we can erase,
The ugliness, of lost childhoods, reflected in, but
Deeper than, man’s despair! So yes, we can liase!

Free to live, with cherished memories
Of a life of love, and our love of life


Oldfield, Brenda M


I Am Affection


I am affection!
A living paradise! Embracing love!
Your love! Our love! All love!


I am a delicate sense! Of enduring touch!
Caressing! Parents, friends, and lovers
A silent act, of praise, oh so sublime!
Human ties cherished, like children’s playtime!


I feel not, I hear not, time’s duration
For I’m lasting! Awake everywhere
Infusing, honey and milk, so sincere
Of bonding, and sweet belonging


I am a voice! A maestro! In harmony!
Sharing a vision, of splendid unity
Singing feelings, of mutual goodwill
Connecting! Each to the other


I am a rich ocean! Of true, intense love!
For you! For me! For all! A peace-dove!
A Jasmine, exhaling, sweet smiles
Exciting! So many, cheery delights


A dynamic treasure! Of mighty tenderness!
Ah what comfort! Oh, what gentleness!
Homely, resting, glowing with warmth
Never repelling, attracting, one and all


I am kin! Of kindness! And compassion!
Fortifying! Happiness, and inspiration
An innocent child, of generosity
Deceived only, by primitive fears


A victim, oh so sadly, of morbid greed
Pulled apart, by falsity, and ugly creed
My heart abandoned, oh how it can be?
For I’m this soft blanket, made of hugs


A living light, which cannot rust
For I touch! I give! And I trust!
A majestic mother, of adoration!
A precious path, to a selfless life!


I am affection!
A living paradise! Embracing love!
Your love! Our love! All love!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Heart and Head


When emotions rise
The intellect dies
When the latter shines
The former pines
When in tandem
No more mayhem
Hence heart and head
Try to share a bed
So passion and reason
Can't psych up treason
But just be interwoven
Like stars up in heaven


Oldfield, Brenda M


Why me you Bully


Must I be a victim, of your deceit and taunts
My emotions sucked dry, so very drained
Depriving me! Of life’s big joys, and carefree jaunts
Oh, why me?

My feelings you burn, by lies and scary madness
My trust in others, mocked, so very scorched
To decay, in a deep melee, of so much sadness
Oh, why me?

Time and again I’m belittled, by your sense of superiority
Warping my belief, in human similarities
Now switched to anguish, and a sense of inferiority
Oh, why me?

Your words shoot straight, to my very own heart
Bleeding so profusely, from your very bitter thoughts,
Begetting me a pain, from which, you can never, be a part
Oh, why me?

Your dirty act, of manipulation and control
Makes me too scared, to even speak or cry
Splitting open my ear, to deep within my soul
Oh, why me?

You are very cold, callous and calculating
Attacking so stubbornly, my sense of self-worth
Mutual respect, you obliterate, which is so excruciating
Oh, why me?

Your primitive provocation, breeds a wretchedness
Swelling to isolation, by self-defeat and despair
Scourging my thoughts, to suicide, oh what helplessness!
Oh, why me?

My melancholy cannot be, your ideas of perfection
For they batter me, into this bleak, broken shell
In tatters by your denial, and your own self-rejection
Oh, why me?

Must I be more, than you could ever wish?
A bigot, a tyrant, a bully, niggardly intruding
Into another’s space, just to be mean, and very selfish
Oh, why me?

I’m not better than you, but I can’t be apathetic
Caring only to understand, why you are so oblivious
To being a little kind, or humanely empathetic
Oh, why me?

I beseech you, to learn and embrace, these three words
Reassurance, respect, and responsibility
Returning, oh but now, we are equal, justly lords
Oh, why not?


Oldfield, Brenda M


Mean Words


Words mean to care! But can be, so very mean!

Words stick together, like protons and neutrons
Erratically they spiral, to form mutual bonds
Niggardly mindless, of the effects, of chaos
Meaningless and empty, woefully, often facetious

Words mean to care! But can be, so very mean!

Words may reach, the speed of light
Yet blindly fumble, in the darkness, of night
Stumbling, grumbling, to trembling with fear
Evoking tears, diffusing noise, to a sensitive ear

Words mean to care! But can be, so very mean!

Words, like a snake, can spit deadly poison
The victim suffocates, without rhyme or reason
A tragedy laden, with black holes, of assumptions
Saved only, by a festive flow, of polite persuasions

Behold! Gentle, tender tongues! Of linguistic dimensions!
Exalt! Share your soft harmonies! Of empathetic expressions!

Yes! Words do care! They mean, this much!


Oldfield, Brenda M


An Ode to Empathy


Empathy,
Your name is as precious, as precious, as can be
You are, as human, as human, as can be
Your heart beats, so kindly, oh so kindly, over me
Your sensitivity, to others, lives in me, so heartily

You are the kinship, of two inner selves
Transforming, meshing you and me
An instinct, of compassion, relating one, to the other
Like the warmth, of a baby, embraced, by its mother

You fixate, the synchronicity, of lover’s eyes
A metamorphosis, of thoughts, which never lies
Enticing, friend and foe
In sweet tandem, to care, and to understand

Helping, one and all, reflect, each to the other
In time, in place, and in love, without any bother
You laugh, I laugh! You cry, I cry!
Soothing, the dreary toils, of life

Touching, expressing, and reciprocating
Reading, like an open book, exceedingly astute
You change, crystallize, and commute
Them, to us! Me, to you!

Resonating, crossing over, and merging
Similarities, of emotions, values and virtues
Overcoming, weary adversity
Bringing comfort, hope, and diversity

You emanate kindness
Shaping the unfeeling, into feeling
Making the unbearable, so bearable
Reconciling, divided selves, so miserable

No longer bereft, rejected, or abandoned
But piecing together, oh so gently, our broken hearts
Renewing, our sense of pain, oh so silently
To sublime calm, so very expediently

You dissipate fears, and loneliness, then hey!
We belong! Now worthy! Now human!
Binding the ties, which cherish all lives, in selflessness
Yes, you be the embodiment, of social connectedness

Ah, if only, if only man would resist
Their folly, of organized, mass antipathy
And eliminate, this sacrificing, of your caring identity,
Often in the name, of egotism, racism, and materialism

Unite and inoculate our world
Against this sickness, this relentless indifference
So energise, and prioritise, with humble insistence
And inject, the highest dose, oh so imaginable

Thus rejuvenate, oh the precious, the most precious
Unconquerable power, of empathy
Becoming as sincere, as truly, as worthy, of humanity
Amidst a tender cushion, of mutual consciousness

If only! If only, humankind would!
Only empathise!


Oldfield, Brenda M


You Bully


You inflict untold pain
To cure your own pains
Seek ways to be free
From your own, beastly chains
Or ferment, in the deep annals
Of unending darkness
Never seeing the light, of any empathy
Or of human kindness

Your bullying, weeps a sickness of mind
Mulling you, very, very grim
Giving false solidity, to your air of tricks
Smothering you, and your victim
You are a mean machine, crass and small
Goaded to be, so very deceptive
Steel, cannot feel or think, used only, by thugs
To be grisly, and destructive

So before hurting another
Ask yourself questions, again and again
Who am I? Could I become?
A comedienne or a self-reflective Zen
Is hurting others, a need? How would I feel?
To be treated, so undeserving?
Oh seek, till you find, the simplest of answers!
Oh yes, then return ye, to the land of the living!

But first kick off! The stroppy metal boots
And that mask of vulgarities
Drop the broken wheels, of such unfeeling
Go redeem, your ugly vulnerabilities
For only then, can you strengthen!
And protect, one and another
Only then can you be
This sweet sister or brother!

So move heaven and earth! Find your true self
Invisible, but never risible
We the victims, dare you to be human
Reassuring, and responsible
To swallow, your dire disrespect
And the morbid fear, that you are wrong
A challenge, to make a difference!
So feel! What it’s like, to really belong!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Reach Out you Bully


Even worms move the earth,
Come shift faults, failures and, guilt to thyself,
Never hitting, but using hands, to create mirth

Come hold pen to paper! Enlighten thy demons!

Not that black or white self-righteousness,
Not self-hatred; it tills for all, heavy burdens,
Returning to thee, in stealth, in bitter contagiousness

Come mutate no more, this absence of self-respect

Use thy tongue, not to demean and, to smother
But to express words, sharing love and care
It touches thee, without feelings of hate or, bother

Come dignify and, be rooted, firmly, in kinship

Now an intrinsic listener, not quite so dumb,
Shutting noise from the chasm, of who ye be and,
Could try to be, yes dear friend, our humble chum

Come be brave, look into the eyes, of thy victim

See there, no incarnation, of some dim narcissist,
Blind to their grim, sense of superiority,
Then watch thy fears go, unlike those masochists

Come look higher, not lower, to find this vision

Of courage, hope and trust, that will beseech
Thee, to no more cunning, but to champion the art
Of true empathy, for in there, no one will preach

Come teach, thy spirit of compassion and, freedom

Speak ye, of understanding, of who you really are,
A hefty thinker, hell-bent on feeling, the feelings of others
A possessor, of self-control, befitting, an admired star

Come bask, in sweet confidence! Of self and all others!

Rise! To this sense of human worthiness!
And ye will not take, that busy, rancid road
Going nowhere, but to despair and, emptiness

Come to the sweet dreams, of future self-autonomy

It is, oh so superior!
To the quicksand, and muddy holes, of bullying
No longer a selfish beast, inhumane or inferior

Aye, coming to peace! With yourself and, the world!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Mother Nature


Hail Mother Nature
Fantastic, kinetic crusader
Mistress extraordinaire

Forever touching, affecting
Your giant spells in everything
Here, there and everywhere

Always reconciling, connecting
None other than all you create
By time’s hand, to communicate

Endlessly shaping, spiralling
Like torrents of rivers, rushing
To this ocean of ovum and seed

Eternally grasping, turning
All existence, in these whirling tides
Beneath your own, giddying guides

Still sighing, searching all alone
Nurtured then neglected, in disbelief
Oh come! No more of this grief!

Why be or not be!
This statue, of all known beauty
Still, yet tactile, solid though fragile

And oh yes! A silent expression
Of tender mothers, gentle in motion
Abiding like a blanket, so softly warm

Glowing, flowing, in timeless fashion
Weightless, like all compassion
Sharing sweet songs of serenity

Mother Nature, Energy of Nurture
Hail, let us be just like you
Just like all, Mothers of Nature!


Oldfield, Brenda M


A Matter of Man's Soul


Man maybe made, just of matter
Or a soul wrapped, in calculation
Or perhaps, it's just the latter

But not withstanding either
It comes not as a breather
To discern man as a whole

Sensed by his senses
A matter that moves his soul
Within the mind's abysses

It doesn't matter his soul is lost
He must find it, at all cost
Ordered by time, or some rhyme
That his soul be in order

And moved along in Space
By a wretched motion
To the blundering fury of time
In some geometric, spatial theatre

Echoing, a cruel display
For man's matter and soul
So nothing matters, but the soul of man
For man is nothing, but the soul of matter


Oldfield, Brenda M


Mothers Sad


Hail to all mothers, full of disgrace
The devil of sadness, may be with thee
Shameless thou may be, amongst children
Or the fruits of thy womb, may be so cursed

Not to your Children! Oh, no never!

Holy Mother, could not be, thy name
Nor a true mother, to your children
Look no further, than to Mother Nature
At the hour of each birth, but you look back

Now and forever, you may be a sad
Woe man!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Mothers Glad


Hail to all Mothers, full of true grace
The Spirit of Nature, is always with thee
Blessed art thou, amongst all children
And cherished, are the fruits of thy womb

Yes to all Children! Here, there and everywhere!

Holy Mother, mother of child, truly be thy name,
Caring, and loving to her child, or anyone’s child
As you embrace and share, with all mothers
At the hour of each birth, to be forward looking

Now and forever, you are always
Human!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Fathers


Our Fathers who art, on this earthly heaven
Hallowed be thy name, for this is thy kingdom
Of all youngsters, who you will dearly hail!
The power and the glory, and to prevail

With dreams, which will be done, here on earth!
And always as it is, in their own sweet mirth!

And as you protect their future
You give them, their daily bread
Helping them, to help themselves
Guiding them, but not to self-destruction

But delivering them, from your evil, selfishness
For to nurture your child, is yours to have and hold
With an almighty love, reflecting, their grand selflessness!
Each child’s love! Valued! Grounded in many caring ways!

Forever and ever, Oh, Loving Fathers!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Mother Natures Creed


I believe in Nature, the Mother Almighty,
Creator of Space and Earth
Through time
The Spirit of Gravity

Born of Mother Nature
Suffered under nothing
Recycled and reborn
Descended into nothing

Re-energised, re-emerging
Into Existence
Ascended and ascending
Into this Space and Time
Seated on All sides

Of Nature, the Mother Almighty
From thence She shall
Value and predict
The Pattern of rebirth

I believe in Nature's Spirit
The prayer house of 'Time'
The Communion of Existence
Shape, Colour, and Light

Always Nature's Motion
O Nature


Oldfield, Brenda M


Mothers-in-law


Can a woman
Be made mute and, naïve?
By some un-sisterly pest
That barks to deceive

Blind, to the infliction,
Of grief and, bitter cries
Doomed to deflect,
The damned sinister lies,

Back to a mind, drooling
With some rancid sore
Its odour once ignored,
But now no more

For who can bear,
The belittling of their pain
Feelings denied
For personal gain

By a web woven,
To entrap and infuriate
A machine wheeling grief
Just to humiliate

Who are they?
To make us weep?
Have nightmares bleak,
So little sleep

Faces scored by tears,
Deviously drawn
By a witch’s dumb craft
Brewing spittle to scorn,

Whilst heaving hearts,
Objects to demean
Kindness forsaken,
Forgotten, so obscene,

Except dim keenness
For insular selves,
Hunting with snouts,
Like greedy she-wolves

Sucking veins dry
Of kinship, to then reign
With pure acidic claws,
Buried deep, within the brain

Just for being married
To someone’s son!
A condition of bondage
Deaf fiends have spun!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Love is


Love is like, a flower’s naked bud
Blossoming to entice, always ready to entreat
Its nectar’s golden pure and, taste not bittersweet!

Love is like, a child playing in a meadow
Who knows not time or, what brings the day
Nor ever weary, of cradling, the heart’s happy foray!

Love is like, a woman with a babe
In a big round belly or, in gently folded arms
She’s a beauty, steeped, in all our mothers’ charms!

Love is like, a very fine noble man
Keeping at bay, life’s trials and tribulations
He seeds comfort to kinship, without stipulations!

Love is like, the joys of birdsong
A living melody, supreme in its dexterity
Sung everywhere, for it embraces, sweet sincerity!

Love is like, the rays of the sun
Sparkling with warmth, for life to live and, endure
Amid a fusion of compassion, in majestic grandeur!

Alas, words are but figments of love
For they can never feel, the enchanted glow
Of a tender touch, so breathless, in its timeless flow!

For what is love, but that we love
Aye, it’s what we do, through me and, through you,
No matter what, no matter who!


Oldfield, Brenda M


When Love is Denied


What is this life?
When love is denied
I asked it to the mind
And so it cried,

You’re a bloodless no one
A bloodless no one
With a heart that throbs,
Tho’ it’ll never be won

What is this life?
When love is denied
I repeat it to the mind
And so it sighed,

You’re bitterly lost
So bitterly lost
Like a hardened leaf,
In the frozen frost

What is this life?
When love is denied
I insisted it to the mind
And so it modified

You’re fuming in the dark
Just fuming in the dark
To spontaneously ignite
Like a lightning spark

What is this life?
When love is denied
I saw it in the mind
And so it signified

Your future’s been slain
So brutally slain
Hurled into an abyss
With nothing to gain

What is this life?
When love is denied
Still I search the mind,
But now it defied

You’re haste-fully daunted
So haste-fully daunted
A self-pitying stooge
Bloodthirsty when taunted

Oh, what is this curse?
That life can’t abide
A mind merely tortured,
When love is denied

For the fickle-some mind
Has no heart to rule
It can’t reverse my gloom
But love, is no such fool!


Oldfield, Brenda M


I Moan Alone


I hear me ask and,
I hear me moan
Why do I walk and talk
But feel so alone

I swear, there’s stony deceit
Beneath my feet
Ever weary of marching
To some tyrant’s beat,

The tongue fatigued,
To mute all my squealing
Only to maul the heart
With unsung feeling

For no matter what joy one gives,
Even in a word
These must go with the wind
Unseen and unheard

And however hard the climb
To be like all selfless forms
There’s a doomed descent
Into the valley of storms

Where jousting and jesting
Kills all meaning
A mere cry, to this soul
With a sensitive leaning

Now flesh is worn, to the bone,
By years of gloom
It’s a puppet, festering
In some ill-gotten tomb

Ever retrieved, to dangle,
In silent starkness
Then back into that pit
Of intangible darkness

Alone ..so alone, when life
Begets, a selfish moan
To walk and talk
Ever on my own


Oldfield, Brenda M


Resplendent Mirror Of Self (Version 1)


Gentle Self, blow not thy horns of identity
Windswept in self-pity, lacking chords of sincerity
Pipe devotion to others, ‘tis a melody of mortals
Similarities kindled, not wasted in thy miseries
Sense others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, dig not for riches, ‘tis falsehood,
Belittling the bedrock, of beloved ‘childhood’
Forget fortresses; raise life in harmony
Wings of empathy, nurtured, meek and mild
Free others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, seek not the dim dens of power
For therein lurks, thy pride’s darkest hour
Open doors to grasp, the lights of humility
Finding kernels, of what ye do not know
See others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, beat not drums of infinite reason
Dance to thy heart’s rhythms, in unison
With finite wisdom, she means to understand
Sending not a sound, of what’s right or wrong,
Hear others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, discard not the armour of trust
Thy sword of deceit cuts cold, inner disgust
Wear another’s esteem, shielded in thy pulse
Fearing not harm, but making hearts warm
Know others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, yield not to the whims of thy patience
Face integrity, she smiles, with warm sentience
A bridge crossed, for another’s space and time,
Carrying, diamonds of dignity, Ruby’s respect
Cheer others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, resist not the art of being sorry
Defending fears, that ego, liberates no worry
Why see, feel, listen, think and speak, to act?
For this peace, this joy, with no battles fought
Touch others, O resplendent mirror of Self!

Gentle Self, share this mirror, ‘tis a true reflection,
Of compassion, touching hands, rich in affection,
A life lived, in tender deeds and words, truly kind
Beaming love, thru open hearts, in the human mind

So eyes can see, you in me, me in you,
For loving others, ‘tis to thy self, be true
And in loving all, thy love’s never done
What splendour! You and I, just as one!
O resplendent mirror of Self!


Oldfield, Brenda M


Resplendent Mirror Of Self (Version 2)


Gentle Self, blow not the horns of thy identity,
Of self-pity and fickle roots, but pipe humanity
Into similarities, a chorus of childhood glee
Awakening selfhood, this beauty that we be

See! I am, others in self, self in others
Sense others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, bang not drums of infinite reason,
It beats a din, a sophistry, veiled in dim treason
Throb to finite wisdom, not right or wrong
Bonding cherished songs, of how we belong

Communicate! I am, others in self, self in others
Hear others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, spin not wheels of rancid riches
Turn life into harmony, not fancy fortresses,
Till empathy gardens, to flower with affinity
Reaping its nectar, for the sake of mere unity

Give! I am, others in self, self in others
Reach others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, stir no pot of angst breeders
Mingle minds like books, gladdening readers
Seek such vessels, of what ye do not know,
Feeding this hunger, to brew no more sorrow

Grow! I am, others in self, self in others
Free others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, ruffle not thy feathers of patience
Brush integrity’s face, with a clean conscience,
Stroke the bare feet, of another’s space and time
Tending repose, not rebukes of hurt or crime

Smile! I am, others in self, self in others
Cheer others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, fight not thy heart to be sorry
Defending fears, or guilt, liberates no worry
Yield to the mind’s image, of equity in thought,
Driving peace chariots, with no battles fought

Feel! I am, others in self, self in others
Know others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, O adorn thee, in the armour of trust,
Not words, garbed in deceit, it cuts inner disgust
Put on the pulse, of another’s virtue or sin
Transcending deep wounds, of demons within

Touch! I am, others in self, self in others
Embrace others! O resplendent mirror of Self

Gentle Self, O bind compassion to thy attention
Willing tenderness, for the spirit of thy affection,
For all sentient beings, in deeds and words truly kind
Reflecting Love, thru mirrors, of the human mind

To be others, in thee! To love others, in me!
You and I, as one! O resplendent mirror of Self!