The forge

A working forge is a sight to behold
It blazes with a heat hot enough to mould
Take the material, and with enough skill
It can bend to form the forgemaster's will

What then, of a forge that's gone cold?
No more mastery or feats to behold
Ashen memories of what used to be
Scuff marks and battles and old cups of tea

It's not too much work to keep a forge going
Add in some fuel if you see the fire slowing
But an empty forge that's heated no more?
It's just a record of what has come before

Unless, unless, with great effort and fight
A master returns, along with a light

Politely Burnt Out

I don't have a way
To politely say
I'd love to
But then I'll struggle to get out of bed tomorrow

Right now
I know not how
My battery
Only goes between zero and around thirty

If you request
When I'm my best
I would do it
And I could shift around my plans if needed

But today
Is not that day
All I can do
Is just enough

Second memories

You only get so many seconds
And from those seconds
You only get so many memories

If you don't hold on
A precious one might slip away
Never to be recalled

If you stop using your seconds
Let them flutter by
You'll never make any more

Memories.
They are our history.
Our currency of experience.

Love what you have already made.
Keep your mind rich.
Use your seconds well.

Home, but new

Welcome to your new world!

Please leave your free time at the door for a short while
Because you will have admin and organisation
Staring you
In the face
Every time you walk in
For at least the next week.

You can't do it all at once.

So, what do you value?
What are your real priorities?

What bills do you sort first?
What groceries do you carry on your first shop?
Which furniture do your arrange your room around?
Which bags and boxes do you leave unpacked for the first few days?

It's a real jolt to the veins
Realising that you need this but can do some days without that
Honestly, it might be healthy to not have internet a short while
But one day of sleeping on a ground mattress will motivate you to build a bed

For me? I needed cereal, milk, bread, and bovril
Electricity and water - anything else is a luxury
I made sure the desk stayed in the corner of the room
To not become my whole life, please.

Each task done is another bit of my brain that's now free
Free to plan cleaning or explore living in a new city
To adjust to new working and relaxing conditions
And figure out if I'm comfortable with visitors yet

Then, one day, you'll look up
Realise there's nothing urgent to do
And finally
Call this new world
Home

From the brink of extinction

I've been known to talk of sadness
About darkness humans hold inside
We can often share in madness
A mania believed far and wide

We humans do despicable deeds
And honestly, I don't know why
We can sew destructive seeds
Which later blot out the sky

It's....a lot, sometimes

But I wish to talk of hope
Of great effort over time
Provide a little soap
To wash away the grime

Humans can do despicable things
But also great things too
There's a power that persistence brings
A power that also belongs to you

It takes a lifetime of trying
And hard study of conservation
But we can stop people dying
Or save animals through preservation

I've known many educators
Passing knowledge through generations
Others who are innovators
Preserving cultures across nations

Nothing is gone until we stop trying
There is a world between dead and dying
And some humans may wonder why we're crying
About the "bright future" we insist on defying

It's because, well, there is more to Earth than the present
We share this planet with the future and the past
There is beauty to witness beyond what mere humans can invent
And it would be a shame if we were the last