If You Could See What I Can See.

If you could see what I can see,

If you saw with my eyes-

All that waits just there for you,

The natural sight defies…

If you could taste what I can taste,

The sweetest flavour known-

And keep that essence evermore

To be in memory sown…

If you could smell what I can smell,

The odour, sweet - of life.

Or draw into your nostrils oft,

Aromas of delight…

If you could hear what I can hear,

The voice of gentlest tone-

That calls with epilogues of love,

And warms the deepest soul…

If you could feel what I can feel,

So deep within your heart-

And feel the greatest love of all

From which you'd never part…

20th Dec 2004

Sometimes when one read the words one wrote years before, one feels one may have lost 

something.  At least I do now when I read this...

There was a last verse to this.  I did not post it - it is the answer to the 'If' question.  I leave it to 

the reader to answer.

To Truly Live

A day will come when I must say goodbye-

Not just to some passing acquaintance,

But to all I know see and fulfil:

To pleasure- felt with joy, and sorrow known with pain,

And so pass on to leave all that was life.

In that strange moment that exists,

Only as a line- between this life and death.

No more substantial than the ocean’s surface:

A huge expanse existing only as the end of atmosphere,

No realer than the instant when the night turns into day.

But if I linger on the threshold of transition

And have the chance to recollect, reflect:

Would I look back and say that I have truly lived,

And licked out every trace from the receptacle of life,

And from its pitcher drained each golden drop?

How will I know if I have truly lived?

By feeling that my appetite is quelled-

That I have tasted of the best of life’s delights?

Or that when I have departed, all that’s changed for good

Is not changed only in the one who has passed on.

Oh, to leave here in some new lives an epitaph-

A trace of joy planted in some empty heart.

Or in the music of some other lives to see

The influence of the master that was I,

So I might never waste the gifts He gave to me.

Mark Humber  16/04/04

The Pearl

Shaped by the suffering of the sea;

Caused by the grit that found its way

Into the former comfort of the shell,

The oyster built around to try

To give itself protection.

Until it ground inside with abject pain-

Each hour, every moment, formed inside,

From the excretions of agony,

A lustrous beauty there to hide,

For some most blest discoverer.

So when I find you, I’ll rejoice,

And tell the world of my great love.

And thrilled to find such beauty rare,

I’ll tell the heavens’ stars above,

Of the pearl that I have found.

Mark J. Humber. 

The Good Samaritan

On  a well-travelled route, the old Jericho Way,

So well known to many of us,

Went a man out alone on the ill-fated day

To a palm-treed old city of lust.

But afflicted by robbers, and wounded and stripped,

Left dying by merciless hands.

A spectacle sad for any who tripped

Down the road through the Palestine sands.

          So, will anyone stop for a soul in distress,

          And what could you possibly do?

          As you ponder your choice, you are put to the test-

What if Jesus had not stopped for you?

The clergy came up with his robes and his book,

And looked on the pitiful sight.

But his flock was at home, with no one to look,

So he passed by the opposite side.

The Levite, he likewise came strutting along

To observe with disinterested eye.

If only he had there that most august throng-

But no one was there to descry.

So, will anyone stop for a soul in distress,

          And what could you possibly do?

          As you ponder your choice, you are put to the test-

What if Jesus had not stopped for you?

Next, a stranger came up to the place where he lay-

An outcast Samaritan, he.

Rejected, he has no desire for display,

But was moved by a deep sympathy.

He bound up his wounds, poured in oil and wine-

Laid him on his beast that was there.

Took him to a place where they’re caring and kind

And promised all cost he would bear.

So, will anyone stop for a soul in distress,

          And what could you possibly do?

          As you ponder your choice, you are put to the test-

What if Jesus had not stopped for you?

Now, you’ve known this old story in Luke well indeed,

And enjoyed its great Gospel appeal,

But, have you got the point of the neighbour in need-

Poor lawyer, yet cynical still?

When you passed by that young soul so cocky (for sure),

Did you greet him with friendship so rare?

Or speak to the sullen to bring him some cheer-

Did you stop, just a moment to spare?

So, will anyone stop for a soul in distress,

          And what could you possibly do?

          As you ponder your choice, you are put to the test-

            What if Jesus had not stopped for you?              

Mark Humber 1999

My disgust with religious pretence.

Voices

Voices now gone but ne’er forgotten,

Words left seething in my mind.

Whispers of rumours, innuendo,

Murmurs of trouble, loss and care.

Tunes of songs we once were singing,

Lyrics with words not understood.

Speeches of monotones so dreary,

Sermons told o’er and o’er again.

Shouts of bitter accusation,

Cries of pain and sorrow too.

Screams of terror in the night time,

Sobs of grief too deep to bear.

Echoes of phrases unforgiven,

Calls from distant hills of home.

Voices of children never heard now,

Voices of families left behind.

Mark J. Humber 10 September 2006

Only some readers will understand the terrible meaning of this poem.

When a Thousand Times

When a thousand times I’ve said I love you,

And meant it from my deepest soul,

And my words have often wooed you,

Are there any other words to say?

When a thousand times I’ve kissed you,

And held you in my arms so tight,

And so tenderly caressed you,

Can I show you any other way?

When a thousand times I’ve seen you,

And marvelled at your beauteous face,

When your glory has enthralled me,

Is there anymore to see?

Yes, a thousand times I’ll tell you!

Of the love my heart sustains,

Oh, a thousand times I’ll hold you!

Yet the passion still remains.

When a thousand times I’ve seen you,

And your beauty turns to age,

For a thousand thousand times I'll love you,

Till I close my life's last page.

Maybe in that other world, I'll find you,

Where life does not dim with time,

When a thousand is no longer,

I'll spend eternity with you.

Mark Humber

The Trombone Tutor

He leaned back in the carver chair

His eyes were almost closed

With hair that flowed out everywhere

Like sound waves frozen in mid-air

As he listened to my tune.

But he could no longer then sit tight

As I struggled through my piece

I wanted to pitch the notes so right

And make the sound more full and bright

Though it worsened line by line.

“Picture a sunset in the sky

An artist’s palette taken up

And strewn about by God on high.

The colours whirl and seem to fly,

Oh, try to play that tune!”

“Ever sat by a mountain stream

As it trickled on its endless way

Round the rocks of time its waters gleam

Then open up your soul and try to dream

That your song warbles down the walls.”

“Do you know the thrill of the touch of a girl?

As she lifts her sweet face to yours

To whisper, “I love you”, the heart’s cymbals whirl

Filling the night with the mighty burl

Of the everlasting ode of love.”

“Take up your instrument of gleaming gold

And blow through its still cold form

Your heart and mind, your deepest soul

To reverberate with a sound so whole

With the colours of your life’s song.”

Mark Humber 7/04/01

Inspired by my wonderful trombone teacher, Monte.

A Moment in Time

There was a moment in time-

Just one of many.

But a special one, when time stood still.

Did the birds ceased to sing,

Or the traffic stop its endless rumble?

I know not.

In the snow of Istanbul,

Just one kneeprint,

Amongst a thousand thousand footprints.

Did the wind still blow upon my cheek,

Or the snow fall on my uplifted face?

I know not

There was just one heart:

Just one so precious,

That I’d give everything to win.

How did I find you there - so far away?

Because I searched, or because you were meant for me?

I know not.

I spoke some words in a foreign tongue.

Just two, that's all.

“Zanam mishee” – will you be mine?

Did the angels dance in heaven,

Or God who joined us smile down from his throne?

I know not.

Just this one thing I know:

That of all that I have ever loved,

And every impulse that has touched my soul,

I have never loved so much.

And that one moment stands for me, unique,

Although a thousand others pass,

For all eternity.

30th March 2005

Nice poem? Well the sad thing is that I married her, and she left me on Jan 3rd the following year. I don't know where she is now.  And you know, I really loved her and treated her so kindly.  I will always wonder if she really loved me.  She really seemed as if she did, and I want to believe it.  But did she just want to come to a better country, and was I just a safe way to do it?  Could she merely pretend so well - as my friends try to tell me?  Perhaps I will never know the answers.  The only thing I know is that my God knows, as all of my friends know, that I tried my best and was always true and kind to her.   And I hope that one day God will give me another 'moment in time' when I can be truly happy in sharing my love with another - a moment that may never die.  

Dare to Live Your Dream.

Before me was a vast inviting Universe

Encompassing a vision greater than the eye could see.

So filled with all I longed to know, do or possess-

With things of beauty, facets of a fuller life;

Some objects worldly, some divine,

Then danger-fraught, now steeped with languid solace too-

With joy through sorrow, comfort easing pain.

All this I boldly dared to dream

Dare to live your dream.

Open up your clouded eyes,

Listen to the music of a richer life

Stop to smell the flowers while you may,

And boldly dare to live your dream.

I struggled up a rough uneven stony track

And each step hurt my aching feet and tore my bleeding soul,

Until I reach the pinnacle and sat alone.

And then my ears began to hear, my eyes to see.

I looked down from the top and smiled

Into the glorious firmament of blue

And walked back down until I reached the common path

I’d  never noticed was so smooth.

Dare to live your dream.

Open up your clouded eyes,

Listen to the music of a richer life

Stop to smell the flowers while you may,

And boldly dare to live your dream.

Mark Humber 

There is a story to this one too...

One day, I was feeling rather depressed about my failed marriage.  All of my good intentions had come to nothing, and here I was - on my own again.  I decided to go down to the Cataract Gorge near where I lived in Tasmania on my own and walk around to try to clear my head. It is a most beautiful place. It was the middle of summer, and I was dressed in shorts and tank-top with no shoes on my feet and I was in self-punishment mode - the further I walked, the more rough the track became as the poem depicts, until eventually there was no track at all.  I climbed to the top of the tall hill and sat amongst the trees and bushes to nurse my hurt and pain alone.  But as I sat there, I reached a deeper or heightened consciousness.  I became aware of the beautiful view so far below me as I had never seen it before.  I started to hear the sound of every insect around me, every movement of the bushes.  Then I noticed peacock feathers around me.  I had come to their secret roost and they were sitting in the trees around me.  They sat quietly and seemed to empathise with the rest of nature with my personal agony.  It was a magic experience.  I gathered up the feathers and keep them on my wall wherever I go – a reminder of this experience.

Create a Blessing

The morning comes – anticipation.

Perhaps there'll be a change,

Some inspiration,

Some source of joy.

A visitor,

An unpredicted spectacle,

Just something new

That was not here just yesterday.

Because it is Today-

The day that is forever Now!

This day, I can reach out my hand.

And change something for good.

Or reach into another's life,

And plant some beauty, share some joy.

Today I can create a brand new blessing,

But it is up to me.

Mark Humber. 28th October 2004.

The Morning of My Day.

Oh, that I were again

In the morning of my day,

When the sun's first rays

Had kissed the poignant air,

Full of the hope of brilliant noon.

For I remember well

On the morning of my day,

How the pretty wrens

So quickly turned their heads

When I did pipe to them my tune.

Yes, it was glorious then

On the morning of my day,

As refracted light

From every drop of due

Sent forth its glistening rainbow hues.

Now it may well be noon

On the morning of my day.

But lo, I hear

A voice, it calls to me-

"Go forth, be bold, and seize the day".

And if I e’er should find,

On the morning of my day,

Some open heart

That I could fill with love,

I’d shine my brightest love-light in.

Oh, that I might discern,

On the morning of my day,

That there was one,

Who could call forth a tune

To which I’d ever harmonise.

And so, I'll seek to stay,

On the morning of my day.

For though I know

The night will surely come-

I'll live each moment to the full!

Mark J. Humber 19^th June 2000

Quite amusing that this was written more than 10 years ago.  I still hate getting old... :D