Christopher P. Bartlett
Bartlett. They were created in various locations, notably Cardiff University in Wales, Wells
in Somerset and Keele University in Staffordshire.
The first of these works was written in November of 2000, and continue to be created to
the present day.
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A gentle soul
Brings wonder to me
A simple goal
Makes my heart gloomy
Heaven’s eye
On a cursed world
Doomed to die
My heart unfurl’d
A poet’s pining
No need for sorrow
A lover’s timing
Awaits the morrow
Childhood dreams
Rekindle a fire
Now high seems
To reach far higher
An echo finding
The soul a-winding
A light so blinding
Into the sapphire night.
Somewhere high, twixt heaven and earth,
A realm of beauty softly lies
And here among the sacred turf
Man’s truest love will’st never die
Garden green and river winding
Autumnal fields of sun blessed corn
A light so clear, so pure, so blinding
Reminders of a love forlorn
In my eyes so deep with wonder
Swirling pools that twist and turn
I gaze at angels, truly ponder
Why they cause my heart to burn
Terror strikes my heart so tender
My heart is lost with baleful glare
I strive to find the ways to mend her
Before my world is ripped so bare
Finished with a life so gloomy
Fire fails in my lonely eye
A lasting vision passes through me
And carried through me when I die.
Twin lights of heaven
Gain entry to my being
My heart rests afraid.
An angel cries hope
The winged carrier of love
Sings into my heart.
Eclipses the dream
Of painful love forgotten
Freed to sing again.
Staring at the scene aghast,
Reflections on the things I’ve passed.
Regrets I have, too many to mention
These thoughts deserve my full attention.
Of love, once crystal in my mind,
Can soon be seen, be seen to find.
Lost memories of a childhood happy,
Constrict my breath, now serve to trap me.
People whom I’ve left forever,
To reacquaint I must endeavour.
A future dark, uncertain, dreaded,
A past cast off, deserted, shedded.
And now among the tomes so vast,
I wish to reclaim my broken past.
Yet here I wish my life to end,
For the simple lack of a single friend.
But none I have, cast off, neglected,
The pain is worse than I expected.
I sit alone, in awe and fear,
Of those around, but never near.
To improve myself I must relinquish,
Those feelings that I can not distinguish.
A peaceful soul, as a peaceful dove,
And still I sit, alone, but loved.
Mirror frozen in thine eye
Reflecting fire of my heart
Light hearted charms produce a sigh
Knowing soon we’re forced to part
Simple pleasures, love and laughter
Captured in an endless dream
Makes me wish I can but have her
As river’s droplets seamless seem
I carry with me to my room
Tortured sights I wish to lose
Impending flashes of my doom
These pains doth cause my heart to bruise
Curs’t am I, the words deceive me
I strive to make my heart rejoice
These thoughts and feelings will’st not leave me
Her wondrous smile, angelic voice.
I
Whispering thoughts strike home
Pain pierces my mind
Agony of the waves, crashing
Breaking on my soul
Torture of endless
Torment.
Fiery flashes grasp at
Me, unable to escape
Rattling, raking my
Eyes, until I no
Longer see.
Sleep, gentle, restful
All too short
To break the spell.
Visions of beauty, thoughts of
Happiness,
Strive to be seen, fight
To be felt.
It is a losing battle
Eternal toil at the altar
Of war.
No respite, no peace
Is to be found in
This world
Where the spectre of fear
Runs scared from
Something unseen, unnamed,
Unreal.
II
Hope appears in the form
Of a woman, so
Lovely as to have been
Created from some
Precious metal, by
The most skilled craftsman
A voice the angels would
Be proud to call their
Own.
Words tremble in her presence
For they are
Inadequate.
No words
Have been uttered
By the most gifted
Talented, joyous
Purveyors of wordcraft
That bring her soul to life.
In the mind of a humble
Poet,
Whose words are petty,
Nor pretty,
And lack rhythm, rhyme
Or reality.
Such wonder given a
Human form, and
Love is brought to
The place of darkness.
III
The darkness, fuelled by bitter
Despair, paranoia
And overwhelming
Doubt,
Grows until it threatens
To extinguish forever
The light.
Thoughts of home are lost
On a strong ground
Where the seeds die
To be replaced by the unholy
Reminders of the
Trouble brewing in the soul.
Crying out with no voice,
Ears burned by many words,
That bring no
Comfort.
Hope is all but
Lost.
A void that cannot be filled.
Dreams of a far forgotten
Realm, where life was
Sustained
Fade quickly in the
Dying sunset.
IV
Mirror images, the past
The present.
A past so filled with
Pain unmentioned,
The present with joy
Banished.
Correspondence not requested
But delivered
To any ungrateful thing
Emptied of all
They had once held
True.
Save the fading image
Of love, of trust
Of friendship.
A past world, nothing but
Regrets,
Hindsight strangles the
Present,
Defiles the past,
Leaving the emptiness
Beneath,
Where is pervades a being
Devouring, defiling
Destroyed.
V
Words are lost,
Upturned, shaken for
Meaning.
Success is not forthcoming
Only doubt,
An aching sense of what
Might have been, nothing
Of what is.
There is nothing to be.
Possibility, wonder, hope
Broken an bleeding
Slowly disappear into the
Maelstrom.
This storm is unending, and
Rages out of control
With destruction in its wake
Laying waste to the fertile
Landscape, carrying away
All dreams, all hopes,
All futures.
VI
Even beauty cannot escape
The black hole
Of defeat.
Under that kept
Some unseen burning
Now cast into the pit
With all other
Feelings.
Lover, whatever that word
Can mean,
Is nowhere to be found.
Lonely echoes of the mind
Following dreams
Shattered.
Crimson willows, a sea of calm,
Brush against my naked cheek,
Scent of pewter and of balm,
Doth seek myself as I doth seek.
A sky the shade of radiant blue,
Clouds of clouds so wondrous white,
Doth mix sublimely with this hue,
And dreams of beauty doth take flight.
A wicked wind, she chills and batters,
Those brave few who attempt to venture,
Into the scene, for all their matters,
And to the sun they must indenture.
Pale of face, but strong of heart,
And blessed with a secret smile,
Even now she plays her part,
Brings joy to all, least for a while.
Echoing her lonesome song,
Both wind and rain respect her grace,
With us she lingers but not long,
And bids farewell, her kindly face.
We are left with thoughts of sadness,
Echoes of the beauty fading,
But stops the vision of our madness,
Finally we are worth saving.
Fire breathing flames of hell,
Dance among the painful dead.
And we the guilty forced to sell.
The evil thoughts we all have said.
Dreaming of a calmer nightmare,
Doomed to die a living ghost.
Touched by an unseen sight there,
That writhes among the sightless host.
Bringing death with every footfall,
Crying to our hearts so dark.
The terror of our fearful withdrawal,
When searing pain doth hit the mark.
Deserted now, our minds once plenty,
Our souls are crushed by fateful force.
Dreams are dry, and cracked, and empty,
The poisoned rain destroys the source.
Where are we, the lonely ones?
Together now, our world is gone,
Lost in a dream so far away,
To live again, our silence prays.
Three words are lost in ancient minds,
Buried deep, too deep to find,
And now we face our broken dreams,
In sun’s brave rays, and moon’s tir’d beams.
The stars have seen, with dying eyes,
Lovers’ feuds, and rifts, and lies,
When blinded not, to see my sorrow,
Their pale light, request to borrow.
The river’s banks, now dried and crack’d,
As ancient Troy, itself was sack’d,
Gasping for the rightful air,
Fishes left to suffer there.
Among the hillsides, valleys deep,
The eagle finds its nest to sleep,
On desert plain, or fertile landscape,
Man is found by his bold handshake.
Ocean floor, now filled with danger,
Forest guard, respectful ranger,
Snow-capped mountains, take one’s breath,
Can’st not save from tortured death.
The world must die, of this we’re certain,
Man’s legacy, his children’s burden,
We can but pray, hope for rebirth,
But nought can save this cursed Earth.
Expression of departed feeling,
Stir my soul, and leave it reeling,
Captured fire of love once found,
Extinguished now on poison’d ground.
Treach’rous dreams, now half-remembered,
A long cold winter, deep December,
A classic beauty, now created,
My heart finds joy, becomes elated.
Turns of fate, the love is spoil’d,
In webs of hate, I am embroil’d,
Left with thoughts, and that is all,
Expected death, from this great fall.
And now among the ancient past,
We find ourselves a life to last,
Without the love we once had sought,
Without the love for which we fought.
Enlightened memories of flowers in sun,
Courageous heart entwined in breathing,
My paling moon floats to the sea,
And languishes, cool and forgotten.
Intrepid voyages of love and laughter,
Hearty breakfasts on borrowed time,
My failing breath is tired and hungry,
Left alone for all time.
In valley’s mist I wonder softly,
Great forests bring their lofty shade,
My wailing mind cries out for comfort,
And arrives on wings of beauty.
Absorbed into love, touched by an angel,
Feathered fire brings endless joy,
My trailing hand reaches up to touch her,
And finds the love to live once more.
Wind burns the fires of hurt,
Surging into my wounded soul,
Fanned by pain, memories stirred,
Reminded of a fallen goal.
Among the shadows of deceit,
My broken heart lies bleeding,
Fallen by lost love’s feet,
My dying love lies needing.
Around myself I see no grace,
No single place of love nor beauty,
In my mind I see her face,
Remember my forsaken duty.
Of love or trust I speaketh not,
An empty shell, and nought within,
The plague of doubt and now forgot,
Glimpses of the mindless sin.
Cupids arrows cannot reach me,
To lift my mind of cursed dread,
Attempts have failed for me to seek thee,
And all remains of love are dead.
Hushed inside, around the hillside,
Wind breathes a name, but half-remembered,
For now it knows the love has still died,
In winter’s shade, this dark December.
Give me thy countenance dear fellow,
I wish your counsel for a while,
When Roman hands did scour these lands,
And leave us with great sorrow.
What speaks from you dear friend,
That causes you thus to speak?
My dearest love, now dead a week.
But I know not how to reach them
Nor find these souls in deepest reaches
What help am I?
A wise friend, a friendly face, now that is help,
Enough for me to continue.
But continue where?
Into my very soul, where buried deep,
The knowledge so they may gently sleep.
I dare not follow, your soul is dark,
Unseen to all, save yourself.
And my love. Thus finding her in myself,
I find her own being, and joined once more
Shall we be.
Think my friend, what can I do?
Stand by my side, my dear friend true,
And united in our common goal,
Loyalty my friend, your role.
I will stand by you, through all these trials,
Do not lose heart, nor seek denial,
But stand as strong as mountains high,
I promise thus, until I die.
Then join me on this sacred path,
Be not afraid when all is dark,
These words I will attempt to follow,
And join you swiftly on the morrow.
I trust my friend you will be swift,
I will mon frère, to stop this rift
Within your soul so deep and cold,
Not cold my friend, but surely old,
Indeed we will succeed my friend,
And to this strife, we’ll put an end.
Thus I bid you last adieu,
To see again with morning dew.
* * *
Wandering through these sand of time,
Fear not my friend, your safety’s mine,
We will soon find, your lady love,
If she’s still not now above,
Lost to me, forever gone,
Come now frère, we must go on,
This I know is your heart’s quest,
Alas I fear, you know me best.
How much longer must we travel?
Until our tangled paths unravel,
It will be cold, and hard and long,
And so I’m sure that I belong,
By your side, forever stand,
Until my love is in my hand.
So now we leave this place of fear,
Until your love, to your heart near.
Oh so near, and close you were,
Now a fleeting memory,
The air alive with my heart’s love,
Now cold and darkened,
A winter’s rose, my lady love,
Now blossoming no more,
A summer’s breeze, gently soothing,
Now breezes out the door.
The first timid rays of sun,
Now covered by endless cloud,
My dear heart’s true faith
Now lost, forever gone.
Now and Then (38)
It was once so simple, fresh and pure,
Now confused by broken hearts,
A love unending, forever mine,
Now taken from my aching soul,
I loved a girl, with my entirety,
Now little left but grief,
Never had I felt such passion,
Now I am cold, and empty,
She was my all, my world,
Now I am adrift in the abyss,
Somehow I saw a way,
Now, my blindness is total.
Cry forth those angels, my love is born,
And causes this old heart to beat,
No longer shall it lie forlorn,
That in itself is no mean feat.
She’s carried forth on love’s great wings,
A flaming arrow to my heart,
A joyous bounty to me she brings,
In my minds eye, we’ll never part.
I’m touched in ways I never knew,
But flounder in love’s sweet embrace,
With every vision brought from you,
I wish for more, but one brief taste.
All my senses brought to life,
Thus knowing my love’s hold is strong,
Forgetting fleeting thoughts of strife,
Together I know we belong.
What words can sum this fright’ning feeling?
That holds my trembling heart in balance,
One false step could send me reeling,
To persevere, this is my challenge.
This day was long ago I’m sure,
Impacted me in ways so vast,
Stay true I will, keep my heart pure,
In doing thus, this love will last.
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