POETRY

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I have written Poetry on and off all my life. However in 2002/2003 I attempted something rather different. I decided to write a poem every day for a year. This task grew like Topsy and soon my target was 1000 poems in a year, then 2000. I wrote to the Guinness Book of Records but they would not entertain a record attempt as they said they could not define 'a poem'. My own definition was it had to have at least four lines, except for pre-determined forms such as Haiku. In the year from August 30th 2002 until 29th August 2003 I wrote 2171 poems, which I claim is a world record. A very few of them are recorded here. In 2007 I published a book of some of my favourite poems, called "Is This The Answer?" and another called 'Enthusiasm" in 2013 The title poems are printed below on this page

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BY YOUR SIDE

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Look up at the heavens and I'm returning your gaze,

Glance out over oceans and I'm in every wave,

Walk through green fields and I'm there by your side,

Nothing between us of meaning has died.

In highest mountains and valleys so deep

Smile with me always , let your joyous tears weep

What we had, we still have, it's essence alive

In our hearts it's still living, no need to describe

Our beauteous souls remain whole and in touch

I'm there all about you and still love you so much.

Peace has descended on my earthly endeavours

Yet I'm still with you now and will be for ever,

Our laughter and joy, our mutual regard

Shouldn't be lost, even though it's so hard

To put on a brave face, to look out at the world,

From the dark mists about you which currently swirl.

Remember the good times and know I'm still there,

Recall all our dreams and believe I still care,

Whenever my name comes into your mind,

Remember those worse off, the lame and the blind,

Continue your life, it's purpose and meaning,

Now I've moved on, it may just be beginning,

Who knows what's in store as you move on and grow,

Enjoy every moment, I'll be watching you know,

I'm settled and peaceful and calm and at rest,

Fate meant it this way and it is for the best,

Your grief will pass on and your life will resume

We'll meet up again though I hope not too soon!

Value the times which we loved and enjoyed

Value it all, because nothings destroyed

We lived and we loved and we laughed and we cried

And nothing can change that, I'm still by your side.

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Laurie Phillips 2.3.98

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YOURSELF

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Be Yourself,

Whichever of the selves you are being at this moment,

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Know yourself,

And you will begin to understand the world a little better,

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Be honest with yourself,

Self-deception is the most dangerous error of all,

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Laugh at yourself,

Bursting the bubbles of self-importance aids humility,

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Enjoy yourself,

Make the most of your lifetime’s precious opportunities,

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Believe in yourself,

Give complete faith and trust to your own visions,

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Love yourself,

Accept your many imperfections with grace and a smile,

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Be true to yourself,

Whatever difficulties your own truths cause to others.

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25.5.1987

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ACCEPTANCE

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Accept the world as it is,

Accept thyself for within lies Heaven -

and hell.

Accept other people around you,

Be they black or white or yellow

From East or West.

Pass no judgements

Invade no privacy,

Do what is yours to be done,

As Heaven decreed it,

And no more.

Enjoy the stillness,

Marvel at the beauty,

Cosmic togetherness,

As the stars shine down from afar.

And God continues his work

In ways so mysterious

Only he knows why or how.

Accept the world

And it will accept you.

And you will be gathered into

The bosom of all mankind

United in Peace and Stillness

Complete.

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7.3.83

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40 Words

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Accept Everything

Expect Nothing

Be Yourself

Consider Others

Judge Nobody

Love Everybody

Take Sparingly

Give Generously

Talk Little

Listen Well

Relish Simplicity

Act Responsibly

Honour Elders

Appreciate Health

Enjoy Beauty

Respect Nature

Encourage Unity

Cherish Life

Trust God

Live Now

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written mid 80's

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Is this the answer?

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My lengthy journey was nearly complete,

The Goddess before me, I knelt at her feet,

“Tell me” she said ‘Your true heart’s desire”.

“It’s about Truth I have come to enquire”

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“Truth, there’s no truth except for your own,

There’s no absolute truth that can ever be known,

Those who claim they have it, never believe,

It’s just an idea which no one can conceive.”

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‘Well what about Justice?” I asked her next,

“Justice” she said is another such text,

What is just to one person, another upsets,

Life has ups and downs and both one gets”.

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“And what of Equality” I cried in frustration,

“Are we not equal amongst the worlds nations?”

“No” she replied, “there is no such state,

It’s impossible for the real world to equate.”

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“Equality’s a myth like so many ideas,

It creates aspirations and causes tears,

None are born equal, nor will that way die,

Equality’s just a conceptual lie.

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“And Life After Death, is my final request,

This major question is surely the best”,

The Goddess paused, looked up, and said,

As far as I know when you’re dead, you are dead!”

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“But if when you die, you find out you’re not,

That life continues in some way I forgot,

Please feel free to return and again we will meet,

And when that happens I will kneel at your feet!”

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15.4..03

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Enthusiasm

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People's qualities are rich and many.

You can find goodness even in the downtrodden,

Or brilliant minds who create new ideas,

Physical skills honed to remarkable degrees,

Natural gifts of artistic and musical virtuosity,

Politicians and Professors with breadth of vision,

Teachers with understanding and humanity,

Spiritual leaders with compassion and sensitivity

But the rarest gift of all is natural bubbling enthusiasm.

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'En theos', the Greek, means 'The God in you"

That is the quintessential essence of enthusiasm,

So often sadly, the invisible God in the majority.

The hidden God, the vital one that has lost its voice,

It seldom if ever appears and if so fleetingly,

Covered over with other thoughts and emotions.

Yet to the lucky few, the spring surfaces eternally,

Exploding this way and that with vital energy,

Creating a wave which others catch and cling onto.

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Without knowing why they take a magic carpet ride,

Carried along effortlessly on the magnetic excitement,

The searing force of belief and joy which expands

Their world, as well as that of the originator,

Enthusiasm like fireworks is beautiful to behold,

It forms wonderful patterns, creates magical dreams,

Explodes and expands, entrances and captivates,

But it ends, suddenly and unexpectedly as it begins,

As the energetic flow moves on to the next thing.

And the next………and the next……

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LP 24.4.13

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Play station Santa

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As Christmas hovers on the horizon,

It’s the shops full of presents the kids have their eyes on,

‘I want a construction kit this’,

‘And a game just like that’,

‘A video spectacular’,

‘A Star Wars kind of hat’

‘A computer kind of thing’, ‘An electronic the other’

‘Can I please swap this present for my youngest brother?!’

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When they’re taken into these glorious stores,

No kids want to see Santa Claus any more,

They want a PC PC, or their own kids TV,

Or a cellphone, or pod, or a musical tree,

A digital camera, one of those in a phone,

Some mind blowing game they can play on their own,

Where is the fun in this isolation?

Let’s all visit Santa at his Christmas play station!

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28.11.02

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©Laurie Phillips