The words, poems, stories and thoughts of award winning writer and journalist, Nic Outterside
I came in from the wilderness
Drenched to the bone
Darkness hung above me
Broken and alone
Your words fell like rain
And mingled with my tears
In pools at my feet
They washed away all fears
You sketched the view so clearly
Like a graphic artist in a play
A friendship etched quite dearly
There is much more I need to say
Hunted like a crocodile
Ravaged in the corn
Come in, you said, I’ll give you
Shelter from the storm
The traffic roars
The children scream
The mother shouts
My brain awakes
From its neon dream
What happened to the real you?
You’ve been captured
But by whom?
Walking the dale in the morning
To where water babies play
The peewits are meandering
It’s just another day
The heat haze
The dry earth
A rebirth
A summer of one thousand years
The darkness of noon is high
Across the old soot stain
Everybody looks to the sky
They’re all expecting rain
The heat haze
The dry earth
A rebirth
A summer of one thousand years
But the sun beats down upon all hope
The cowslips are in bloom
Tumbling scree along the slope
Turning to evening’s gloom
The heat haze
The dry earth
A rebirth
A summer of one thousand years
You sit by his bedside
And read him to sleep
You kiss him goodnight
And let him count sheep
You tidy his room
And fold up his clothes
You tip-toe to bed
And count your own woes
The evening darkens deeply
The shooting star
That shines
Above
You do these things so freely
As they reflect your own true love
You wake him at dawn
And brush his blonde hair
You wash his small face
And see him downstairs
You watch as he eats
And check his school bag
You put on his coat
And write on his name tag
The morning lightens meekly
The pale sun
That shines
Above
You do these things so freely
As they reflect your own true love
You stand by the school gate
And hear the bell ring
He rushes to meet you
And you hear the birds sing
He walks by your side
And talks of his day
He looks up and smiles
And wants so to play
The afternoon brightens sweetly
The golden sun
Descends
Above
You do these things so freely
As they reflect your own true love
You are my mirror
You reflect me
Tell me my child
What do you see?
An old man
Growing older
Whose love for you
Does not grow colder
Our twin natures
They might collide
But my feelings
Will never subside
Your mirror reflects
The waning moon
And in a blink
You were gone too soon
