Stolen Holidays
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Stolen Holidays by Cathy Cronje
They came slowly at first,
Falling from the sky
Like gentle raindrops on my cheek.
I brushed them away,
Tried to ignore them.
But then they grew in size,
Into vivid memories
Of that long ago day:
With its summer sand castle dreams
And sticky ice cream fingers.
And the dark shadow of a man
Obliterating all light.
The rain is harder now:
It hails down like meteors
On my head,
Drenching my heart,
Drenching my soul.
It flattens me
Into a deep crater that will
Always remain
As evidence to the storm.
The photo album is closed now.
The riddle has been solved.
I thought I could escape,
But I was wrong:
There is no escaping
That stolen holiday
Of my youth.
~~~~~
Stolen Holiday by Ramon Rabie
Olives and bullets,
buses loaded with young guns -
Shalom and goodbye
~~~~~
Stolen Holiday by Bronwyn Bulwer
Anger planned a surprise attack.
She inwardly lambasted
the checkout lady for not packing the groceries in the correct way.
She screamed silently
at the icy wind on the beach.
She yelled in frustration
at the sunscreen that didn’t prevent sunburn.
She glared scathingly
at the teenager in the skimpy bikini overflowing with summer love.
She lost her temper
at the children who were having fun too loudly.
Anger laughed in victory.
But I cried in defeat
because I just couldn’t understand
why Anger stole my holiday.
~~~~~
Stolen Holidays by Louis Saayman
Where are you now ? What have i done ?
Where is the moon and where is the sun?
Where have u gone to, the laughter and fun ?
All of a sudden you disappeared,
manifesting all that i have so feared..
Why have you touched me why have you left ?
Why are you guilty of murder and theft... ?
I thought it was time for having a break,
then all of a sudden i was burnt on the stake
A time to recover i hope to have found
but you slipped away without any sound.
The break that i looked for the time that i sought
to rethink my life and to challenge my thought..
were taken from me like a thieve in the night
without any struggle and without any fight..
~~~~~
Stolen Holidays by Deshree Vandeyar
With gleaming eyes and flushed cheeks, he waves goodbye
Crumbled parcel of hope in his hands, they always leave
He walks the shiny passage , knowing they always lie
Next time they say, tears caught by his torn sleeve
Its festive time and jingles fire up the sky, he sees bright red armies of children
Do they know we are at war?, he wonders how they smile
They are mangnificent in battle, time for him to follow the sin
Through his wounds he walks another mile
Follow the enemy, they have what should be yours
He catches the arm, pulls at the clothes, he takes whats his
A man in the making, a hero to the nation, reaches deaths shore’s
Stares and curses beat through his heart, his holding the keys
He stares at the life he never reached, and says hello
Maybe this time will be easier, maybe this time he will stay
He walks past the ocean, children playing in water too shallow
They will always have a next time, all he has is today
~~~~~
stolen holidays by Samantha Perry
17 years
i’ve worked
hard
no holidays i’ve seen
bad
a holiday from reason
from worry
from stress
would be worth
stealing
yes?
death and destruction
worry and dismay
i go next week
but what will life steal from
me today?
~~~~~
Stolen Holidays by Adam Rabinowitz
Same place, every year
Just because they’re there
They have a place,
We have to go
She can see it in my face,
But she can’t say “no”
It’s the same thing every time
Same old people, same old wine
Same old fireworks, Auld Lang Syne
Same old beaches,
Same coffee shops
Nothing changes ‘cept maybe the cops
And every time
I quietly swear
“Never again,
Somewhere else next year”
Yet every year
I’m back here again
Wondering why
I’m enduring this pain
Now the money’s gone
The weeks are done
The dutiful show’s
Come to a close
I’ll load the bags in the car with a growl
Kiss them goodbye hiding a scowl
All the way home under a cloud of thunder
I’ll drive in silence and quietly wonder
As the kilometres tick away
“How the hell did they steal my holiday?”
~~~~~
Holiday by Hutton
Sweetest of dreams
Imagine lying on the beach
Say in Mauritius
The sun not too hot
A very slight breeze
The sea nearly glass
You have just had a swim
Fall on your towel on the sand
The vendor comes around
And you chew ice-cold sliced pineapple
Then back to the sea
Play amongst the brilliant coloured fish
Only feet away from the beach
Till they take fright and leave
Back to the sand
And a very good book
Until you doze off
What a life.....
I can only wish
~~~~~
Wax by Greg du Toit
I knew this beach house before I knew you,
But you became a part of it
when,
I kissed you,
In every room, I remember
I made love to you too.
during those crazy nights on the beach
with the candle wax on the rocks
That couch on the balcony,
That fitted us just right
Holding tight under that southern sky
The rock pool
That beach, that restaurant,
That path
I found your name
written
On an old game scorecard
As if you’d just played with me
And lost...
Now you're gone
Ashes to ashes
I lost, no-one won.
~~~~~
PACKAGE HOLIDAYS by Jackie Kelly
I cha-cha in Cuba
I samba in Spain
I steal precious moments
To relive once again
I waltz in Vienna
I frolic in France
I capture these moments
It’s my only chance
I rap in the Bronx
I hop in L.A
I grab all these moments
And store them away
I swing in New Orleans
I rock hard in Rome
I steal all these memories
And parcel them home
I’ve got excess baggage
It cost me a bomb
But the memories are mine
Now the holidays are gone!
~~~~~
Stolen Holidays by Michelle Driman
I stole them away
I needed their time
They never said much
But their eyes told my crime
I was lonely & pale
I was hungry for hugs
I sadly misread
Their offers of love
They gave what they could
I howled for some more
It was then that they realised
I was stealing their store
I was away for too long
My face lay forgotten
I leapt into the gap
But my memory was trodden.
~~~~~
I won’t stay by Barry Finegan
Oh for a coral cay
The beach and the bay
And diving all day
Yes for weeks I will stay
On this dreadlock holiday
What about the city you say
Awake by night as by day
Well then I shall play
Where the multitudes pray
I’ll settle for a Roman holiday
But I will go away
From where I live in SA
Not fearing criminals who prey
On my furniture while I stray
Steal my holiday? No way
~~~~~
Holiday Afflictions by Tanya van Eyk
Why during the month of December,
my body becomes limp and tender?
While during the year I am healthy and fit,
now afflictions of kinds hit.
First a plummet down a stair.
Then infection of the ear.
Now when sinus strikes,
I begin to look and sound a fright.
Oh no, out of bed I must come,
to the toilet I need to run.
In my moon boot, I stumble,
Aaaaahhhhh, cramp and tummy rumble.
Even though my body is restive
I try to keep my spirit and soul festive
But it’s hard with a red nose and tissues
While the family swims and ………A-tishoo
I make my mind over rule my body and say with glee
“I refuse to have these holidays get taken from me”
~~~~~
An addict’s lament by Frank McLaren
Aimlessly I traipsed along
Knowing something had gone wrong
My head was full of ghoulish scenes
Those wailing cries, and plaintiff screams.
No idyll scribe could write in verse
The counterpart of this obverse
Some opiate had snarled my mind
Elucidation I could not find.
Untangle me from this malaise
This mind befogging constant daze
I’ve sunk into a vast abyss
I long for love, a helpful kiss.
Lithic heart I now possess
Forced on me thru’great duress
I must arise and face the test
My former life I’ll repossess.
To see once more a clear blue sky
Appreciate a baby’s cry
To romp in swaying fields of corn
To know bright days can still be born.
I’ll forge ahead and conquer this
Return to norm a life of bliss
Stay clear, resist, a voice within
Tells me to fight, you’re going to win.
I must not falter, sell my soul
If not, be sure I’ll pay the toll
Release is all I ask for now
My former state I’ll disavow.
To a friend who fell by the wayside
And caught the cleansing incoming tide
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