Ollie Lind

With the world sliding towards the financial abyss at an ever increasing pace we must face up to the fact that we, as a generation, blew it. We can blame greedy financiers, the ’smart’ people who lost sight of the fact that ethics must be the cornerstone of any civilization.

But it is we, the vast majority who grew up seeking more than we could afford, instant gratification, who are really to blame. If we had only taken what we had earned rather than mortgaged our future for the latest gadgets, the ‘things’, we might have seen it coming.

My real concern is not for me personally, I will survive. It is the young who have never had it tough. They haven’t had to deny themselves anything. I fear for their future. No doubt we, as a species, will survive. Perhaps we will emerge better for the coming ordeal.

I can only hope.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

Looking for work

The Young

I walk along the street
and watch the broken dreams.
It’s everywhere I meet
old people in their teens.

They have no job, no house, no car.
Their prospects are so few.
So many of them bear the scar
of life that’s gone askew.

Politicians pose and pout,
they never give a damn.
It’s their turn to huff and shout
“I have the perfect plan

to give them full employment
and make their life more pleasant.”
They really see, “Elect me.”
I’ll make my life more pleasant.”

Perhaps one day it will be seen
that chances are for all.
The young, who might have been
employed, will finally walk tall.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Everyone on the planet has a dark side. Sometimes we have low points in our lives which threaten to overwhelm. Sometimes, in the darkest hour you gain great clarity, sometimes only despair. After just such a time in my life, long ago, I wrote this poem. I found it cathartic at the time. I look back now and wonder how I managed to get so low. I am never that low now.

Poetry is not always about beauty. We need, sometimes, to see darkness to appreciate light.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

Torment

Torment

Ever since I can remember
I have been thinking alone.
Images flashing, ideas crashing
no control, a life of their own.

I try to order what I do
and what I say as well.
But thoughts are random,
not in tandem, I may as well
be in hell.

I try to escape and shut them out
voices rushing all about.
Whispers flouting, screaming, shouting,
I scream and scream. Nothing comes out.

To sleep, no dream to dream,
is more than I dare hope.
Voices pealing, ever stealing,
the hangman with his rope.

Can peace be found from raucous sound,
the mental clamour clangs.
A slave instead, inside my head,
the tin drum bangs and bangs.

Alcohol numbs my mind,
giving temporary respite.
But daybreak, headache, heartbreak
binds me in my plight.

The cycle never alters,
the chaser chastened yet.
Debase, escape for brief respite
return the terrors of the night.

I sometimes think I must be mad,
this thoughtless jingle jangle.
The noises running in my head,
meaningless mental mangle.

Perhaps in death I’ll find repose,
the stillness that I crave.
Perhaps the only peace I’ll find
is in some dim dark grave.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Ready to cast her vote

Only a short time to go before America decides on the new leader of the Western world. Given the current turmoil I hope they get it right. As I am not an American it could be said it may not make much difference to me who is elected. I have no particular axe to grind, although I am probably more inclined towards McCain. I only say that because he has a proven track record. He has immense courage that has been well and truly tested.

As for Obama; I don’t know. he says all the right things, but to me he is an unknown quantity. You do not elect an unknown quantity to such a role. Perhaps in four years, when he has a real record that can be referred to then we may know the man and what he really stands for. Judge a man by what he does rather than what he says.

It’s Time

It’s almost here, the time to choose.
One will win and one will lose.
How to tell which way to go?
Are they just pretence and show?

Grizzled warrior, old in years,
can he allay all our fears?
He speaks so clearly from the heart,
Will his actions tear us apart?

Harvard lawyer, he seems so straight,
Can he take us to the gate?
Prosperity, peace and wealth for all,
Are we riding for a fall?

Whichever way the contest goes,
the emperor will wear tainted clothes.
Trouble besets us on all side.
Can either of them stem the tide?

For years we have filled our need,
with lying, cheating, awesome greed.
Can we draw back, is it too late?
Will we sink to grievous fate?

Perhaps one man, inspired by hope
will save us from the hangman’s rope.
We must rise for mankind’s sake
Our whole future is at stake.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Some things make me smile and some things make me frown. I smile at those obese people who blithely tell you they ‘only eat wholesome things’ as they stuff another hamburger in with chips and soft drink to follow. I smile to myself whilst appreciating the fact that they sincerely believe what they say.

But I frown when I think of the millions who go hungry each night, many of whom never wake up again. It is a fact that we produce easily enough to feed every soul on the planet. Yet it doesn’t happen. We in the developed countries waste far more that many people ever see in terms of food.

One answer for us (over 50% of the population has a weight problem brought on by too much food and the wrong types) is to only eat what is sufficient. Leave the table when you can still eat more. Only consume what you need rather than what you crave.

Donate, food or money, to a local charity so that those who have less can at least eat.
Worth a thought.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

Waste

Waste comes in many guises
in our society.
Some see it as a crisis
and say so violently.

Society is throwaway,
that is the modern view.
Yet some seek to move away
from that point of view.

We waste our food without knowing
while millions starve in bed.
Surely that food should be going
to those soon to be dead.

We waste our trees and forests too
with scarcely backward glance.
The lungs of Earth are dying too
we are as in a trance.

Our children cannot go to work
for places in the sun.
No job as painter, docker, clerk
seems nothing can be done.

If we don’t address their plight
and use imagination.
They will surely lose the fight
our wasted generation.

Popularity: 28% [?]

They say “Scratch a funny man and you will find tragedy underneath.” I was thinking about this one day. Along the lines of how we sometimes try to trick ourselves and everybody else. We trivialise ourselves and others, make fun of people (often in a cruel manner) never realising that the only person really hurt is ourself. On other occasions I find it ironic that those people who appear to be frantically happy, always full of laughs and insincerity are really only struggling to cope with the emptiness they feel inside.

This poem is an expression of that viewpoint.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

PS I’m really happy, honest!!

The Joker

He is the centre of the throng
attention he commands.
He tells a story, joke or song
he is the funny man.

The fun he pokes at love and life
gives joy and laughter too.
Look closely at his secret strife
for it comes into view.

He tries so hard for merriment
his patter wears so thin.
For you can see his true lament
he can’t hide his chagrin

Life’s no longer one big toy
experience taught him.
He longs again to be a boy
where life was not so grim.

He tries to lighten other’s lives
with laughter and a jest.
Alone he knows he cannot strive
to be better than his best.

He feels he cannot overcome
the problems facing him.
so he faces what he’s done
with joke and cheeky grin.

It’s strange to see one so gay
hiding sadness and his sorrow,
to finally show his dismay
and act like there’s no tomorrow.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Now The Contest Really Begins

Now that Barack Obama is finally the official candidate and the battle arena becomes more clear, the time approaches for the American people to decide. I have written this poem as an outside perspective. I am not an American but, like all who love democracy, I am vitally interested in who will lead the free world for the next four years. Given Russia’s new aggressive stance this election takes on a whole new, more sombre perspective.

Decision

Black knight stands astride the stage.
Acclaim from all, he has the prize.
What’s his future, who can gauge?
Is he strong enough, what’s his size?

He turns to face his grizzled foe.
There is no other place to go.
Fight on mountain, fight on plain,
his enemy he cannot disdain.

War hero, warrior and so much more.
McCain advances to the fore.
They face each other, man to man.
Only one be left to stand.

White warrior, bloodied, but unbowed,
stands proudly now before the crowd.
Black knight, seeming state of grace,
Which one of these can stand the pace?

Regards,

Ollie

Popularity: 37% [?]

Sometimes I think about patriotism and the passion it generates. I wonder if it has a dark side. I certainly appreciate my country of birth and feel pride at my fellow countrymen’s achievements. Yet, I cannot help thinking about the fabulous song by John Lennon. I am talking about “Imagine.”

Maybe there should be no countries, no barriers between races or religions. Perhaps we should simply be citizens of planet Earth. I wrote this poem as a viewpoint to be considered.

Live well,

Ollie Lind

Country

We stand so proud of origin
yet history shows us where we’ve been.
National pride sets us apart
from others, so that from the start

others are different and not the same
who live on mountain, not the plain.
Nations form and people hate
the stranger standing at our gate.

Why should our view be oh, so slanted
our vow to love so oft recanted.
If we try we really can
become the brotherhood of man.

Popularity: 40% [?]

On a recent trip to Brisbane I was talking with a young lady who loves poetry. We were having an in depth conversation in terms of her advancing her career (I was assisting her in my role as company coach). She mentioned her passion for poetry and I offered to post her poem on my site.

Anzacs

Australians went to war, you see.
The British sent them to a place called Gallipolli
Aussies and Kiwis quickly formed the ANZACS.
They went with guns, army boots and backpacks.

The Turks with their killer guns
Had a rampage on the Australians.
Dying bodies everywhere,
Food was scarce, they had to share.

Nine months later, the guns they stopped.
Thousands dead, accomplished what?

Marissa Nash
Brisbane

I must say I an taken aback by the raw emotion the images she writes about. There is no way she could have knowledge of that dreadful time except by reading history. Yet her response is so vivid and her questioning of the purpose of war so valid, I must compliment her on her preception.

Live Well,

Ollie Lind

Popularity: 45% [?]

Pretence is an action we all do at one time or another. There are those who say you should never pretend and be brutally realistic and honest in all things.

But what about when you are a child and you pretend in order to play in your own private mental universe? And what about having a spirit of play in your living activities?

Perhaps, as with most things, there is a time and place for pretence. What do you think?

Live well,

Ollie Lind

Pretence

Why do we so often try
to be the thing we’re not?
We end up out of the frying
pan, and into the pot.

People see through most pretence
and see you as you are.
Why put up such a poor defence
’tis foolishness by far

outweighing importance of the act.
A coward seeks to hide his head
when all he needs is tact
to show his actions can be said

to be free from pretence.
clear, open and true.
for real men need no defence
for what they say and do.

Popularity: 36% [?]