Haiga Collaboration by Poet & Painter

 Haiga collaboration by Poet & Painter

Dawn Van Win & Robert Kingston

Both are writers & artists in their own right, but in this work Rob wrote on two of Dawn's canvases to good effect:

 Copyright Poem Rob, Painting Dawn

 Imaginarium 

 

By Dawn Van Win

 

And at eventide 

Shall we wander

Through vast avenues

In storage vaults

Where life’s river leads

Larger still

Than all of Amazonian facilities

 

Our warehouse

Of abandoned dreams

The countless possibilities

Of who we someday

Could have been

 

A slowly reverent walk

Down dusty halls

Shelves stacked to the sky

Down either side

 

Then gently reaching out

Our hands

Caress the edges,

Shapes and forms

 

The bittersweet sting

Of smiling tears

Remembering 

so many years

Of ‘some day’, ‘one day’

When work is done

 

Can we attend then

To this sum

Of all that is

Our Life’s true calling

Held within

This moment’s mourning 

 

Perhaps our fingers

Chance upon

A dangling thread

Unravelling 

 

A breadcrumb trail

To start the search

Into a box 

Left on a shelf

 

Refusing there

To be abandoned

This dream still flickers

And calls our name

 

Wipe tears away

Find packing knife

Unwrap the box

That holds your life

 

Copyright Dawn Van Win

                                                                       Somewhere… 

By Dawn Van Win

 

There is a terrace

Beside the sea

That gently laps

The soft warm sand

Beneath my feet

That slowly tread

A well-worn

Path

 

Along the shore

‘Neath cobalt skies

Where soaring gulls

Express their cries

Of airborne bliss

Untethered from 

Life such as this

 

Where shut away

From day to day

Through fear and dread 

Of Covid spread

By one and all

We do not know 

So keep our distance

Try to show

Some reverence 

for saving space 

Whilst wearing masks 

upon our face

 

Then shuffle through 

Dark winter’s gloom

Whilst meeting loved ones

Over zoom

I sit and ponder 

days gone by

And look out at 

the stormy skies

The clouds above us

Briefly part

I feel the sun

And in my heart

I know

 

There is a terrace

Beside the sea

That gently laps

The soft warm sand

Beneath my feet

That slowly tread

A well-worn

Path

Copyright Dawn Van Win

 

 

Playtime 

(ode to a muse)

 

By Dawn Van Win

 

Here she comes skipping up the path

She loves to sing, she loves to laugh

The little girl who comes to play

Can brighten almost any day

 

Without a worry or a care

And rainbow smiles for all to share

As she finds the toys I’ve placed

To see that smile upon her face

 

But it is not always thus

Sometimes I fail to earn her trust

With long delays between our dates

And saddened by those fickle fates

Who pile up things both large and small

To keep us distant from it all

 

I try to pause and catch my breath

And notice feelings of neglect

Of that which is most pure and true

And filled with light of every hue

 

Returning to our sacred space

I’m hopeful that this child of Grace

Will once again deign to return

And from her I shall strive to learn

The lessons only she can teach

Which are not far, they are in reach

Inside of me when full of joy

We play together with our toys

  

Copyright Dawn Van Win

 

 

 

Ink Blot #1
 

By Dawn Van Win

 

A man in a hat

Took a dog

For a walk

Companionable silence

The dog

Couldn’t talk

 

So on they strolled

‘Though they didn’t go far

The dog had bad hips

The man

Had no car 

 

 

 

 

Escape

 

By Dawn Van Win

 

A bird in

a cage

 

A door

ajar

 

A feather

dropped

 

Too late

 

 

 

Garden Magic #2

Garden Magic #2

By Dawn Van Win

Sandy, loamy, soggy clay

Find a garden

Go and play

Get that dirt

Beneath your nails

It is a balm

For all that ails

Sowing seeds

And tilling earth

Coppice wood

To fill the hearth

Growing veg

To fill your belly

Feels more worthwhile

Than watching telly

Planting flowers

Of every hue

Connects us to

Our nature true

So if you’re bored 

Nothing to do

A garden somewhere

Waits for you

To co-create

And get involved

Whilst re-connecting

With your soul

Copyright Dawn Van Win

Ode to a Blog (and all you lot! :-))

Ode to a Blog (& all you lot!  : - ) )

By Dawn Van Win

How do I value thee

Let me count the ways...

In times of Covid crisis

When the whole world feels shut down

You are a valued safe space

Where our work is shared around

All members and the wider span

Of folk around the globe

Can come and read 

And share our tales 

of mystery and hope,

Adventure, joy and derring-do

And subjects many varied 

(I’m listing just a few!)

This magic space in a virtual sea

A home to share and so connect

Our words and rhymes 

With one another

All members of RLWG

Our blog meister extraordinaire

Len of course, deserves a mention

All of this here brought to exist

By his ever true attention

Not only posting to and fro 

All work we do submit

But timely updates

Informing all of latest numbers hit

The times indeed 

‘They are a-changing’

As Bob so rightly sang

so in virtual spaces

Like our blog 

Our hat, coat and verse we hang

Until we all may meet again safely sharing words and tea

There’s not much more that I can say

‘cept I miss our writers' gang!

Copyright Dawn Van Win

Pay Heed

Pay Heed

By Dawn Van Win

Butterfly wings

Beat inside

A bell jar 

Longing for release

This muse

Listen,

Be ready

She will be off

Before you know it 

Copyright Dawn Van Win

Baldy Pants

Baldy Pants

By Dawn Van Win

No ones’s going to notice

No one’s going to care

So put your pants on back to front

And shave off all your hair

Wake up each day

Rejoice anew

And go and be

Your you-est you

Amongst the crowds of insta-clones

Who twitter in a huddle

Rise up and dance your happy dance

And give yourself a cuddle

Because it’s hard

This simple thing

In living we discover

By bravely being our true selves

We shine lights for one another

And so when passing on the street

We can never really say

Just who may need a shining light

To help them see the way

Back to themselves

Their one true home

And know that they are not alone

Copyright Dawn Van Win

Garden Magic

Garden Magic #1                 

By Dawn Van Win                                    

Seeds resting in

A furrow deep

Awaken from

Resplendent sleep

Soft rain falls gently

From above

And beckons life

To grow

In love

Copyright Dawn Van Win

Reaching Out

Reaching Out

By Dawn Van Win

Reaching out into the dark

Not knowing what we’ll find

Whilst gently stepping onwards

Through the spirals of our mind 

For all the secrets ever sought

Are hidden there within

And connecting to our deepest source

Can never be a sin

If we could just sit quietly

And let them be revealed

So many hurts and bitter words

So easily would heal

By bravely reaching out 

and being seen we may discover 

Our kindred, Spirits, burning bright

Give hope to one another

So when in gloomy troubled times

Of uncertainty and doubt

These simple words, a breadcrumb trail

Beloveds please reach out

For you will find us gathered here

All resolute and true

Your tribe sit waiting patiently 

To welcome home You

In all your fragile splendour 

And your beauty unrefined 

Your value is immeasurable

Indeed you are Divine! 

By Dawn Van Win

Reflections

Reflections

By Dawn Van Win

This Golden age of treasures rare

A time to grow a time to share

Your lessons learnt with sweat and tears

So pause and now release your fears

And drink it in, this time and place

Where you are now, your progress traced

Created by your life so far

Upon this spinning blue, green star

Then sifting through this hard-won soil

Through 50 years of joy and toil

Time to reflect, rejoice, refine

And gather in all that is mine

To nurture it and give it space 

And raising up a smiling face

To mother moon to thank her so 

for love and light which helps us grow

She shines so bright through deepest dark

Revealing treasures in our hearts

We see the way on from this place

So once we’re rested, filled with Grace

We carry on, refreshed, renewed

Another year, all rainbow-hued

To turn the soil, reveal new seeds

And watch them grow

Follow their lead

With courage, perseverance too

Each cycle time to learn anew

one of the beautiful murals at Diamante, Calabria - artist unknown

Copyright Dawn Van Win

The Gathering

The Gathering

By Dawn Van Win

                        

‘Twas All Hallows on that night

When at the beach I saw a sight

That stirred emotions raw and mixed

I stood there watching quite transfixed 

Was I 

By this strangest sight

Of women dancing in the night

By moon so full

In nature’s thrall

They had no clothes on

None at all!

Initial thoughts of fear and dread

Gave way to something else instead

When once I may have run and hid

I thought I’d join them

So I did

They welcomed me with open arms 

The sea it beckoned deep and calm

And so we stepped into the brine

The moon continuing to shine

It’s wondrous light 

on spirits free

All gathered in the name of She

These mothers, daughters, sisters too

All with an inner calling knew

To come here to this wildest place

And dance and laugh and raise a face

Up to that gentle silver light

All shame and doubt had taken flight

And so on Hallow’s Eve each year

All of those tales of dread and fear

Of vampires, bats and walking dead

Are just a veil placed to distract

The masses 

from this simple fact

That while some gather to trick or treat

And shuffle up and down the streets

A smaller group, perhaps a few

Who knows exactly what to do

Are summoned by our Mother Nature 

To seek a wild place for adventure 

So if your granny, daughter, mum

Pops out the door with errands to run

And it seems late, the witching hour

Don’t make her wait, 

She feels the power 

of this time, this special eve

When of her senses she may leave

And though you may not recognise

This fiery light behind her eyes

One usually so meek and mild 

She has an inner, wilder child

It isn’t that her nature’s switched

It’s just her inner, knowing witch!

Copyright Dawn Van Win