Raged and raged
Behind the open eye
A war was waged
That let nobody die.

Fighting was hard
Wounds were grave
Nobody died
No one was saved.

Waged without violence
Waged without blood
Waged in silence
Waged in love.

The war does have its victim
It will have its death
But there won’t be a victor
Or record kept.

© Daniel Breslin

They beat us down
And they pull us apart
They tell us now
We shouldn’t trust our hearts.
Tell us how
We can’t escape loves scars
On we plough
With our fate in the stars.

Why should I heed
To what negative voices say?
When my heart leads
I know I must obey.
If love recedes
Let them laugh upon that day
For so many highs I did breathe
When I kneeled, and bowed, to its way.

© Daniel Breslin

When the odds are against you
Your chips are all down
No one else can represent you
And you fear looking a clown.

Palms are sweating
Heart beating so hard
Doubts have you fretting
And your confidence jarred.

You look for support
None comes your way
You’re your own last resort
And it all rests on this play.

Fear has your heart
Doubt has your mind
So similar to start
So overpowering when combined.

You look deep within
For something that’s strong
Only fear has you pinned
And you doubt you belong.

The faces all gather
You hear them all laugh
You struggle to matter
As you question your path.

Your heart’s in a pump
Your hands have the shakes
In your throat there’s a lump
There is so much at stake.

Everything you’ve ever wanted
For it you have worked so hard
Keeping quiet when they taunted
Even when taunts got past your guard.

You believe in yourself
When it seems no one else does
Now, realising it depends on no one else
Gives you an undeniable buzz.

Your life is in your hands
It’s all coming down to you
And how you exert your plans
Could be the making of the two.

It’s now or never
Comes a voice in your mind
You must find your measure
For it’s now you’re defined.

Your breathing is heavy
You try think of a way out
Then your nerves start to steady
For this is what it’s all about.

You must rise to the challenge
For to quit is to die
And even if you fail now
You can hold your head high.

For whether or not you lose
Or it’s your day in the light
Playing is the only option to choose
Because life, is about the fight.

© Daniel Breslin

Today I saw something
That touched my very heart
Just a man throwing a ball
To a dog in a park.

Now I could paint a picture
As I tend to do with words
But it wouldn’t do it justice
Much more it deserves.

Man was physically impaired
Not that that matters much
But when I looked at the pair
I saw such unyielding love.

Man would throw the ball
From a throwing stick
Dog never once let it fall
Caught it and brought it back as quick.

Dog would then lay down
Drop ball beside
Man would pick it with his stick
Laugh, launching ball to sky.

As dog lept to his feet
Chased as fast as it could
I thought how simple bonds are all we need
Such weights are lifted, in the arms of love.

Now you can call me sappy
A lot of people back you too
But seeing that made me happy
So I’m happy in my view.

For today I saw something
That touched my very heart
Just a man throwing a ball
To a dog, in a park.

© Daniel Breslin

A morning walk
On an Autumns day
Not much talk
Few kids at play.

Leaves of amber and red
Chalk the path we trail
Cover the flower bed
Clouds form as we exhale.

Slip between trees
Crunching leaves in chasing games
Sometimes falling sore to our knees
Eyes not seeing the days true pain.

Joy exclaimed in fits of laughter
As we stroll through a tree guided lane
Look to cows in fields at pasture
Skip through trees and laugh again.

© Daniel Breslin

He stands subdued and silent
With no voice to stake his claim
His silence unbearably defiant
In its quest to suppress his pain.

He stands though he wishes to kneel
Feeling weaker but acting brave
Trying to command all he feels
Trying to be a man, with face to save.

© Daniel Breslin

I think about you often
I thought of you yesterday
I had an urge to call you
That’s crazy man eh?

I just wanted to hear you laughing
Even if it was at me
It was just a thought in passing
But it took the wind from me.

I ain’t much good at talking
When my friends go away
So even if I called
I don’t know what I’d say.

I just wanted to hear you laughing
And I know that cannot be
It was just a thought in passing
But it took the wind from me.

Times I forget you ain’t coming home man
Like last night and I damn near bawled
I ain’t never been no phone man
Just sometimes, I really wish I had of called.

© Daniel Breslin