Sing To The Sea [REV.]

Visiting with Tinker Bell, my twin sis, she is
sunny & practical, does everything herself;
I’m Periwinkle - living in the snow though I
adore the sun myself - together we’ve still
to learn the secrets of wings, how to glow
when we see each other instead of anger
and argument; we’re on our way to see
mom, Queen of Hearts, and dad - Conan

It’s past twelve already - I’ve yet to plan &
pack, & should things go wrong get ready
to face adversity, though I am prepared to
like everything as long as we return to the
water-fall in the mountain, which is more
beautiful than anything I can imagine

And if the mist lies quiet in the dells I want
to stop and stare amazed, not charge past
at the speed of wind; I want to feel beauty
of the Cape, experience the restrained but
zany nostalgia of that pristine mountain
world, walk on the beach, sing to the sea…

No-one Else [REV.]

A long, long time ago the crocodile read personality is our
own creation, could be made into anything we are able to
imagine; thus we’re freed to think positive thoughts about
ourselves - & she dreamed of being a dragonfly, hovering,
draping herself over flower petals - until she turned into a
Walt Disney fairy, flying about on dragonfly wings

She read we are what we think & indulged in dreaming;
she’s a princess found by the King who crowned her his
Queen, but learned no-one else can be part of a fantasy,
loneliness is the way, take note how each writes endings
of their lives from the beginning - and along the way - it
seems suffering is reacted to differently; some grow

More loving & others are embittered; the crocodile chose
loving, it never stops, forms the most delicate memories -
even histories change when seen in new perspectives &
music themes increase in meaning as feelings evolve to
reflect back to her, the crocodile enjoys lovability of most
everyone currently - even those who stumble, complain

And mumble; mostly there’s loving human beings behind
each of the smoke-screen façades…

[26 June 2014]

A Rose-Petal Top [REV.]

Still under influence of Lactosa, Sucralosa and Leucine, the
three evil sisters Selatine, Princess of Darkness and Rotten
Teeth, employs; in a shop I saw fleecy tops in beautiful pink
shades of cerise, fuchsia, lavender-magenta which became
flower petals in my thoughts, bought another rose-petal top
to salve the hurt crocodile within in charge when these evils
had my mind enchained - with a new lavender-magenta top

The crocodile is a princess again, no-one can see scales or
strange reptilian feet, dancing happy, camouflaged in beauty
bathing in dreams of fairy utopias where a crocodile is also
butterfly; what a great recompense for spending money on
flowery things, it’s wonderful to be a happy crocodile today

[26 June 2014]

Emergency Crocodile Survival [REV.]

Discovered a new sweetener half the cost of the real
McCoy to be toxic; seemed chocolate was getting me
down but all the time it was this beastie, every cup of
sweetened tea weakened me, switched off my brain
‘til emergency crocodile survival functions only were
left - wandered about in a daze

Felt better after a fresh vegetable meal but destroyed
it ingesting more sweetener - growing too listless to
tackle challenges faced, thinking I have pellagra or a
deep mental disturbance, losing contact with reality &
sleeping just about everywhere, on my desk at work
(what a shame to be caught snoring!), home in front

Of TV, quite flabbergasted small offences like tasting
icing & one cupcake had me nearly pass out; realised
today each sweetened cup of morning tea caused me
to reel and I ascribed it to other things - thank heaven
it’s not an unforgivably fatal illness, so away with thee,
evil sweetener, let me be free

I’ve no time for this hundred-year-sleep-syndrome, I
want energy to make the best of life, not sink into the
mire of a reptilian past…

Help Her Keep Slim [Rev.]

A pixie lookalike Nici came home
with cap on her head - Dad said -
Are you staying or do you have a
date tonight?

Her reply, I’m going ice-skating
with Laptop Guy - if you feel I
cost too much to feed if I’m not
here when you prepare a plate

For me I’ll eat elsewhere gladly;
immediately Dad faltered, sorely
defeated by her sharp acumen -
No dear, it’s just that I’d like to

Know when you will be here; I
felt sympathy for him, she looks
the most adorable wee thing -
how can her Dad share his

Darling with the World at Large, 
especially Justin & Eduard &
Wiehahn, Laptop Guy and
everyone else when he’s

Last in the line of adoring
fellows; trying to tie her with
threats of starvation won’t
even count - she sees

It a wonderful attempt to
help her keep slim!

[24 June 2014]

Saints And Confusion (Rev.)

Confused people should not use too many drawers;
six are already too many for me, rummaging loudly
to find lost items, irritating my open-plan colleagues,
I can’t even take care of too many pieces of clothing,
my cupboard is an indescribably inaccessible mess
as I add more pants & favourite fleecy pyjamas in a
back-up contingency

Every new cover-sheet entering my work station is
carefully placed under my assortments of hats, but
when looking for it, it’s lost in a carefully concealed
clutter under purple & white scarves; writing in my
poem-diary means there’s no way to keep track of
title and date except by posting directly to the Web
in a blogsite which demands such data

And PoemHunter insists on a subject classification
when most are about feelings, music & philosophy -
without help assorted papers would have floated off
as study assignments once did, the lecturer caught
these falling sheets - securing them with a pin - it’s
then self-evident why an infinite number of angels
danced on the pin’s head

And the lecturer instantly turned into a saint

What We Believe [REVISED]

Terry Pratchett’s mantra is what we believe is true,
we create the gods who annoy us to explain every
thing that happens in the Discworld, many religious
Pantheons are created by human imagination, then
acquire a life of their own as in Theosophy

Mrs Blavatsky visited Tibet and learned regretfully
when she visualised a companion it took form and
caused her woe, being unwilling to do her bidding,
she gave up the practice and I decided to imagine
beautiful, loving and considerate beings only

To populate my imaginary world, I’d never have to
harmonise with dark, menacing frequencies where
wavelengths match feelings &  long ago it seemed
violent forces strangled me as I fell asleep and no
holy word came to my mouth to chase these

Menacing powers away, at my wit’s end I chanted
my dad’s invigorated rant and the deeply resonant
frequency disappeared; since then I rejoiced in his
words “witdulsies en lewensessens” - the essence
of which is the worst taste in the world, nobody

Can stand the terribly bitter taste, obviously it will
defeat everything bad - the devil himself dribbles
at mere mention of this vile medicine which is the
only fear of many a demonic enclave - thank you
dad for providing me with life-giving words to

Save me from non-physical attacks; I’ll always
remember that beneath your unruly appearance
a beautiful spirit lurks…

[23 June 2014]

Rhythms Freedom

rhythms make more sense - it takes an 

opulence of energy to forge words then 

translate them into beat that rings clear 

ears fix on meter - basso-blooded drum

synchronicity deep within eternal stases 

enduring & clean - minds scan aside as

you’re wired to sound anyway - riding a 

tympanic proclivity to feel susurrations 

before seeing reason virtually displayed; 

cochlea appeal and not to your orphan 

senses lest its included in an expense 

beyond means of these simple words 

read aloud; hear rhythms freedom - it is 

intoned there, in a beat declaring words 

you’ve never needed to hear 

© 14 December 2013, I. D. Carswell

Music Of... (Rev.)

Two highlights today; #1 was 

entering the office and seeing
the beauty of my work station, 

flowers tapering off of intense
pink to yellow with orange in 

between, light pink & ice blue 

in front of my computer

Cleaning angels who come in
after us made it so beautiful, a
magic wand waved across my 

keyboard; & #2 - the music of 

Mendelssohn, a ballet to one 

of his symphonic pieces - it is 

so gorgeous, I danced to it at 

Home, pity is I messed up the
kitchen, destroying all vestiges 

of household peace; who cares
when the melody replays in my
mind, dances in my fantasy, a
wonderful dream…

I Love Time [revised]

One big NOW is a fallacy; simply one big now does
not suit me, I can see why scientists say time is not
an absolute entity, just the beat marking life’s dance
but I need it all the same, without it, without rhythms
and routine, I’m lost at sea - literally

Time means safety to me, with time everything will
cease and earth will blossom again, every fairy will
touch the clouds once more - and every dream will
bloom somewhere, time is only a space-dimension
& I don’t care, it matters not to me what scientists
call the things we feel - time is my friend

Time brings healing, self-confidence, love - without
time I was lost in my youth; today I’m in love with it,
as long as it keeps moving on - I love time

Whatever it is…

Threads Spinning In My Head [revised]

My beloved called - irritated by my absence
from a designated pick-up point - only then
did I return unto this world from a timeless
place in my mind which scares me by insis-
ting to continue in unending space without
a beat indicating stops and taking breathers

The timeless universe becomes a monster with
no sympathy for my short attention span, it just
demands to carry on with what interests me but
when I meet these requests I shudder inwardly
knowing something has been unleashed which
doesn’t fit in physical reality, we need to stop

And take stock, threads spinning in my head
form patterns I can’t discern, which need be
unravelled and stored in separate places –
not just everywhere, but carefully labelled,
classified and packaged ready for use – I
ignored time when I was young and lived

In a perpetual adrenaline rush, so much so
my head hurt all the time, I hated stopping
when engrossed and went on for too long
until my mind short-circuited – today I live
within the realm of the clock to help me
stop and take a break before spinning on

In this lovely world - where words and
songs and dreams and thoughts lead on
without ending, and we have to create
our own melodies  by inserting breaks
into the shiny run-on lining of reality…

[17 June 2014]

Encompasses Everywhere Forever [REV.]

I need to withdraw from sensory fidelity tethered to the
3-D beauty of reality's geometric polygons which shine
under soft winter sun seen through transparent leaves,
called an amplituhedron by scientists but known as the
Universe by everyone else; bound by chronology

And space; I must return to out-of-body awareness,
ONE all-inclusive moment which encompasses every-
where forever where the mind can rest in languorous
contemplation of the ubiquitous, omniscient infinity
of eternally vigorous, joyous and loving energy

Through feeling and imagination a special port opens -
exiting this body, returning to the peace of soft being
resting within an eclectic aura of soft rose and ice-blue,
stilling my soul's longing for muted reflections in sweet
prismatic light as seen in recurring ice palaces

Sometimes an entrance is in a book taking the mind into
the protagonist's feelings delicately tinged with loss, yet
rejuvenated by new adventures restoring the past while
creating futures far from reality's steel frame; my heart
often finds rest in the lonely, sombre pleasure

Of grey shades where I float in pastel streams of satin
resonating in chords shimmering in Chladni patterns
replaying textured caramel and cinnamon flavoured
melodies spiced with vanilla and orange liqueur; 
the delight is inside, far beyond sensory reality

I need to withdraw from life to get there…

[The multidimensional amplituhedron is outside space-time and provides a way to imagine a non-spacetime world.
The geometric shape is similar to a 5th-dimensional hyperspace as well as dark matter.]

16 June 2014

Nothing To Talk About [Revised]

Whatever I read or hear in the news - none of it interests
you. Nothing to talk about. Your interest's in plans for the
house, or holidays in well-known places, it's nothing new,
no activities outside our home - viewing concerts or such -
and why we never got to see opening ceremonies of the
Olympics or Soccer World Cup

Everything must be funnelled through you - when I tried
to relate my theories to our son you chided me - it was
within your hearing - what I think or cherish disinterests
you; you were upset noticing I'd bought shoes without
your acquiescence & blessings - this is the price I pay
for love and kindness you're offering

And gladly I pay it because a job away from home in an
office with great colleagues offers stimulation - so in my
heart I keep dreams free while paying obeisance to your
demands; it does not matter, I can put my thoughts on
paper - your censoring everything prevents me verbally
expressing dangerous opinions…

Tornado In Overdrive [Revised]

Came home early to find a state of war in the house,
kitchen destroyed, dismantled gas stove, chairs on
table, dirty brown water in wash basin, steam cooker
disabled, loud music on patio, garden chairs stacked
in military rows on outside steps

It’s our domestic manager ravening through the house
as a soldier on fire, a tornado in overdrive; an insistent
noise follows me into the sunroom without escape from
this torture, a brilliant technique perfected by the KGB-
I can’t stand it and flee without keys

Anything’s better than this destruction – why can’t our
domestic queen finish one thing before tackling another,
I speed away in the car seeking asylum in the library but
it is closed, on to the shops and eat myself into a stupor
chocolates and spring rolls so oily and old

It’s practically life-threatening, come home to find our
domestic goddess ironing & swaying to gospel music
in the sun-room, no more outside noise and I find Spy
Hard on TV, finally come to rest laughing at slapstick
comedy - my insides simmer down

My cell phone’s on line and my nerves are stilled, now
for a quiet night and tomorrow I can be myself again…

Grandiosity [REVISED]

There’s no grandiosity without the prestigious power of a
Professor Higgins wanting to remain behind coulisses to
enjoy people showing homage to his creatures; but let’s
make it clear, you have to be here to face the music and
share with students since, my dear Pied Piper of Hamlin,
you played the beguiling tunes that took us from stilted
rhymes and military rhythms into the drama and sweet

Melodies of your inimitable poetry; a new and arbitrary
style with idiosyncratic rules and lovely phrasings, with
vowel-led chords divided by explosive consonants, to
show us a new world of expression where language
becomes carrier of sweetest delight. If anyone is to be
grandiose, you have to be here as its your creation;
the honour should go to the teacher I believe!

[13 June 2014]

Prettige Ritrympie - Tongue-In-Cheek

Die koue is so salig, sê sy toe eenmalig
want gou-gou vou haar moed in die kou
en wens sy toe weer vir warmer weer en
net effens hoër temperatuur

Om dan met liefdestralende oë na haar
kollegas te gluur net om daarna in die
verte te tuur wagtend op die huistoe-
gaanuur verlangend na die plesier

Om haar huis te versier met `n beeldjie-
figuur in silwer-wit en blou hoewel sy
weet haar man sal kla en sy sal sy
Jermiades moet verdra omdat hy

Haar beminde is en sy graag sing “Bly jy
by my, beminde-teer, dan blom in my die
somervreugde weer” - toe trek sy haar
ysblou trui aan en verander terstond

In die koue Sneeukoningin  - en saggies
begin sy sing “doodgedoemde martelare”
omdat die melodie ‘n ligbaan bou en die
auras glansend vul en breinstrome hernu

Verbindings in magiese elektro-magnetiese
krag wat herinner aan die stringetjies binne
die hologramwerklikheid gevorm deur die
amplituhedron wat weer oorspring gee aan

Chronologiese tyd en ruimte as ordenings-
kategoriëe; koue is reg, dink sy weer wyl haar
hoofdirekteur vergader met verskeie kollegas
diep bedroef en swaar belade deur die sware

kritiek wat lei tot hewige polemiek oor die
voorgenome taalbeleid want die doeldatum
het reeds verstryk en steeds weet geen mens
wat die rëels is vir 11 amptelike tale – en

Slegs 5 is ingesluit blyk te wees in die nuwe
taalrigtingbeleid en nog nooit in hul lewe het
die Calvinistiese taalpraktisyn-integriteit met
so ‘n swak wetregtelike dokument gewerk nie

Die Departement het ‘n mijoen uitbetaal aan ‘n
misleidende WetFiskaal wat nie weet hoeveel
tale ons reeds bedryf nie en dus al die ander tale
behalwe die uitverkose 5 in die see in dryf

Mislei deur deurdagte skelms sonder morele
beginsels en vakkundige etiek, wat net leef vir
om te smul terwyl hul andere verkul, maar hulle
is onbewus van die vlinderkwantum wat

Die fyn noodlotsdrade spin waarin die kwaad-
doener homself verstrik en te laat wakker skrik
net om te besef ‘n bomenslike mag het die hef
in die hand en beskerm ons mooie land

En gee ons die moed om te veg vir die reg om al
11 amptelike tale te praat en skryf en te gebruik

Laugh And Run On [Revised]

Rambling about pink hat on my head followed by
amused smiles and laughter-lead questions where
I find energy they see in me, not realising it comes
from them, their happiness; even if laughing at me
instead of with me it infuses me with more power
to move faster in having a great time, humming a
tune that explodes in the air

If my apricot T-shirt combined with a pink Fedora
can inspire people to conspire in sending positive
feelings which take me high, floating on streams of
their fun and joy then there’s nothing better on earth
than to laugh & run on, world under me blossoming
in colourful joy and delight as I continue my flight,
buoyed by the percussions in my melody

[12 June 2014]

Sonorous Light (Rev.)

My flying is patterned on your flights with
words creating brilliant designs & songs
flying free, you do things I never thought
one would see, I tag along following your
flight paths shining as sonorous light

Thank you for teaching fledgling me how
to sing melodies in different rhythms and
giving me feed-back, you redraw slipshod
lines to create resonance while languidly
staring into space, changing the text

With a vocabulary wider than my mind
can ever comprehend or emulate…

Wonderful Release (Rev.)

Escaped into a children’s movie with music
from Giselle and Swan Lake though reading
the tragic-romantic story of Giselle savaged
my headache - why save the dishonest Duke
while faithful Hilarion suffers a terrible fate?

I don’t want to read Swan Lake’s story again;
just love the music, seeing dolls dancing their
parts takes away shock at close-ups of how
unnatural dancers’ feet look in ballet shoes -
I prefer dressing-room views of doll dancers

Preparing for the big event - as it put me in
a hypnotic trance that cleared symptoms of
allergy from my head; escapism cherished
in watching more fantasy movies to dream
in the wonderful release which adventures

Like these offer allergy sufferers like me!

Party Blues (Rev.)

I pay for yesterday’s party now - excess sugar,
wine & spiced meat - yet it’s a willing penalty;
a walking-around ghost, head down under my
pink hat, the world a million miles away

Unfocused eyes, sound-sensitised ears, mind
spinning outside reality, such is the price I
pay forpartaking in dad’s birthday, I wish
to feel better with my head all closed up

Right now my cranium feels wide open - worms
crawling on my brain; sleepy but the catatonia
keeps me stuck to my seat - a wide and deep
depression like the biggest dark hole

Pulls me down helplessly spinning, swallows
me whole, leaving only alienation and pain...

I’m To Blame [REVISED]

I tried my best but oh, it is difficult to remember
that every argument is my fault, that everything
you blame me for is because of my guilt; and I
tried to make peace with me being the culprit -
but tonight at best I simply wavered in my step

Felt self-righteous indignation when once again
you claimed the  argument was caused by my
wrong-doing; accepting responsibility means
I can change the situation by doing things
differently, but I cannot kneel all the time

But yes, it was wrong of me to interfere in your
good deeds, I’ve made my peace, as of now I’ll
keep quiet while you act with such munificent
benevolence; I’m sure you’re right that I’m to
blame in this argument - it logically follows

I’m to blame in everything that evokes your ire
in your otherwise perfect life…

Love Will Envelop Him [REVISED]

Only the finest porcelain, miniature pink roses with
patterned white lace, delicate crystal glasses for wine;
Conan LOVES dainty things, drinking tea from these
delicate cups is kissing a pretty maiden he says

My beautiful cake stand showing prisms in the sun,
fine cake forks, cake beautifully decorated with the
golden birthday candles, two kinds of cheese cake,
salty dish to counteract sweetness in samosas

An intricately wrought metal motorbike fascinating
him - he loves toys passionately, my son chose it
so I knew it was perfect, so wonderful to see dad
here, grey beard and a rugby cap on his head

As soon as he gets up he puts it on he says as his
head is cold; I would have been sad about all dad
missed if I did not know that life goes on after
physical ends and my Conan dad will have

Everything he lacked as a child in the afterlife
where abundant love will envelop him…

I Love Him

Could not focus today, pain in my head
could be forced aside but it never died
as my twin, the haughty Duchess, said

she would be driving dad, our very own
Barbarian - to the Cape under duress
‘cause it’s so difficult to deal with him

Tomorrow I’ve got leave to try and treat
dad with birthday cake and a gift, he is
86, only toiletries interest him

Claimed by our omniscient Duchess,
easily obtained; but oh, I wish dad
would accept the sailing boat

I gave him in memory of the time when
he taught me to draw such a one – and
I wish he could remember the story

Of robbers he told us; how they removed
a stone and carried the King’s fortune away
without his realising anything

I wish he could know that I love him…

Main Course And Sauce

Our Department happily paid
one million bucks for nine
pages of absolute junk

A language policy for the land
devised and prescribed by a
group of lawyers out there

The text has not been proof-
read, terms not clarified, the
concept of eleven national

Languages not understood, all
reduced to 5 mother tongues
and the question remains

Why these 5 & not the other
6 languages, we pay these
service providers to fleece

Our fledgling state because the
dear, warm, affectionate people
in charge are easy prey

Don’t know how to protect us
against the wolves out there
and it is quite possible

AMCU’s mine strike is funded
by outsiders to destabilise so
foreign powers can move in

And who can stop them? No-
body, of course - it’s a free
market out there and we

Are the starters, main course
and sauce…

[South Africa is targetted by all the conmen out there...]

Conan – The Barbarian Dad [REVISED]

Dad, Conan The Barbarian, will come visit me,
Alice in Wonderland his daughter, brought here
by his other daughter, my sister The Duchess,
on their way to De Rust in Cape Province, a

Quaint rural town situated on a mountain side
reached by driving through Meiring’s Poort and
Robertson’s Pass near Oudtshoorn where poet
and author pioneer Langenhoven lived his life

I have the unique opportunity to present dad
with his birthday cake and something else:
wish it could be a toy train, but I don’t know
where to find a perfect one, maybe the cake

Should be formed into a toy locomotive as our
dad is old - ONLY my twin sis & I love him still;
at his age he deserves something special - an
Astrogenetic Sagittarian my dad always

Charges in like Conan the Barbarian, read Terry
Pratchett to know what it’s like, to save damsels
in distress; I’ve had his support in everything -
always, he saw me a damsel needing help

Today I can be the Princess in Shining Armour
offering to help my frail ‘Barbarian’ Dad, he never
calmed down, only changed his pitch to include
Martin and me in his team as we remain

his most devout followers …

His Damning Text [REVISED]

He quotes the Bible to damn & blast modern
civilisation to hell, citing what is “natural” and
what is not - this reverend should examine
Mother Nature & see what’s natural indeed:

as is a sea-horse male accepting seed from
the female & carrying it to fruition - another
exotic hermaphroditic animal fights for who
gets to play the female role, and those

astounding female fish changing into males
when there’s a dire shortage - so how dare
people cite ancient texts of man-made origin
dictating radical creeds to damn people who

feel differently to hell - & though reverend &
flock vied off into another universe, I’m still
stuck here with his damning text; oddly I’ve
found a million other things to fill my time,

can spend scarcely a moment on his vilifying
text - according to which ONLY holy-fire-&-
brimstone reverend & flock are redeemed -
while humankind is damned to rot in hell

but, fact is the only judgment faced in the
afterlife is us judging ourselves, only pain
faced is experiencing the pain we caused
unto others; I hope Holy One can stand

the pain he caused unto me, the stoical
translator, struggling with his damning text!