Flower or Thorn

 

To stand and stay where we are born

is as the flower is to the thorn,

 

a gift that comes from nurtured past,

a sun that burns through shadows cast.

 

To roam and seek for pathways new

is as the sand is to the dew,

 

a rain to quench the deserts drought,

a life well lived to banish doubt.

 

And when at some unwanted end

the path will seem a foe or friend,

 

a life through which your choices groomed

the flower or thorn to which you bloomed.

 

Collateral

 

Peace is a Prize,

unseen by gouged and blinded

eyes…

 

medalled gold

cannot disguise, nor deafen ears to powers

lies.

 

Time strips clean the schemes

of men, for all to see the lions

den…

 

and which of us would wish we them?

their lives signed off by tyrants

pen.