for my Angel of the North


Maelstrom:
1. A storm at sea involving a whirlpool of extraordinary size or violence.
2. A violent or turbulent situation.

Disambiguation
Malestrom:
1. The destructive whirlpool of emotions generated when a woman is simultaneously loved by two men.


On your way through life you collect some things that you found,
Larger things may have gravity, to which you feel bound,
But if, like me, you discard things or rent to save cost,
You will only ever remember the things that you lost.

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I wandered the world twelve years all alone,
Anchored to nothing, nowhere to call home,
The desert came calling; the dunes whispered ‘Go’,
No rain ever falling, expectations were low.

Drifting along through sand, dust and sun,
A real life outlawed, no chance any fun,
The price of exclusion, extinguish the fire,
An outcast should know when he becomes a pariah.

You see a desert is defined by the amount of rain falling,
Just as a man is defined his name they are calling,
Yet what was this on the horizon now building?
Dark nimbus clouds, could the desert be yielding?

Without calling it Christmas so as not to offend,
Little else going on so I had to attend,
The party was where her glowing smile first warmed me,
That dress and those curves, I so needed to see.

Fragrant the air, dust and new rainfall mixing,
A great storm was now brewing, overhead it was fixing,
Tiny raindrops I could feel at first at the dance,
Her eyes shone so bright, I was hers to entrance.

“Forget it” they told me, “She’s out of your league”
The facts can’t deter, my desire won’t fatigue,
A strange silence in the taxi as our hands almost touch,
I doubt she’ll ever know I wanted her so much.

The rain became steady now, she filled every thought,
Over dinner the next night our shy glances were caught,
Each idea, word and smile realised our connection,
Understanding her soul I glimpsed universal perfection.

But I bid her ‘Goodnight’ at the hotel lobby door,
And under the clear desert moonlight it started to pour,
It had been thirty years since I was a teen,
But she made me feel so alive, so young and so keen.

The old and the new, from the land of the sea,
To another she was promised, she kept nothing from me,
Such a short time and I knew I’d crave more,
To live in the moment and forget tomorrow’s war.