True Love of Coffee

The Lessons We Learn in Life

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Daily thoughts, Friendship

When I was a kid my dreams were so vivid
I could taste them on my lips, like sweet water
Breathe the scent of ambrosia drifting in my mind
They felt complete as if I had imagined this place a thousand times over

Yet my mind was hardly calm
It mirrored my life with a reflection of things I did throughout my day
I could see myself casually glancing, sometimes staring so deeply
That I could witness ripples in the pond as I threw mental pebbles

I remember days when my life was like a red balloon
It was cheerful and everything else seemed irrelevant
Even when it was raining, I was perfectly happy
But sometimes I learned happiness had a tendency to float away

There were times when I jumped so high
Playing so hard I fell down in the mud, covered from head to toe
Usually I brushed it off and laughed, sometimes I was hurt and cried
But I was usually the only one around to pick myself up

I recall a day when the bully at school punched me in the face
It hurt, not so much that I wouldn’t fight
But because I learned that day some friends weren’t standing with me
It was really the first time I experienced how hard it was to fight alone

I remember when I was growing up
A dog bit me in the leg, yet he wasn’t a strange animal
I thought he was my best friend in life
Until I accidentally stepped on his foot and broke it

I remember those days, everyday
When I walk across the street and look both ways
as I share myself and the things I love
The lessons we learn in life, are simply amazing

Another smile

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Daily thoughts, Dedicated Poems, Friendship

Dear Lady,

I met you in the most strange place

Under the invite a friend that had invited me to play with them

And I thought to myself, why should I not act as a child

If for but one brief moment in my life

I had no conception that I would be changing my world

As the sun crept overhead and signaled a bright day

And the trees surrounding us laughed gently in the breeze

If for but one brief moment, it was a perfect day

My friend was there, as expected

They were laughing and joking with me, with everyone

I took a sip of ice cold water and as it touched my tongue

My spirit came to accept how refreshing this day was

I meandered through a crowd of unknown faces

Bumping casually around them as I wandered through the park

As I allowed myself to fall into the moment of life happening here and now

and without realization of how amazing a chance, I stumbled upon you

You were smiling, a remarkable smile

I could tell you had been laughing just a moment before

And you were doing something amazing

You were living that moment a thousand times over

Or at least, that is what I thought

I wondered to myself how incredible your talent was

To smile, such a beautiful smile, a thousand times a day

And faithfully find yourself in a moment that defined everything else

Without a word, you had given me a gift

A simple and honest present that exceeded any value

One that I could barely comprehend, and that you probably didn’t even realize

As I thought deeply, pondering the exact nature of what is was

Dear Lady, for a moment

You gave me the inspiration, no, the courage to find myself letting go

To remember that this moment could hold such wondrous instances

And without a second of hesitation find myself smiling again

Jigsaw

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume One, Friendship, Loss

A missing friend.

Segments of life absent.

Fragmented spirit within.

Pieces of living barely fitting.

Joined by remembrance and desire.

Wanting to be whole.

Never living within themselves.

Feeling abrasion of touching others.

Peaceful wanting haunting the dreaming.

No feeling of being together.

Painful knowledge of being disjointed.

Never wanting nothing more than being one.

Seeing distance within touching.

Breathing space yet never true embrace.

Hearing echoes of distant emotions.

Falling into the void of subtle placing.

Knowing life was purposely designed ironic.

Trying to believe in purpose never being.

Soulful pictures trying to elude vision.

Always purposely cut away from friends

Seeking touching, simply to be one.

I ask you once heart, let me love myself

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Defiant, Friendship, Love

If I tried
One last time
To care
If I cried
Over losing
a heart thats mine
If I died
Peacefully falling to a slumber
I cannot define

I ask you once heart,
let me love myself
as I dare to believe
one last time
to care
I will cry
over losing you
and if I die
I will not forget
not even in peaceful slumber
that you are my dream
and that I
am nothing
but the man who cared
enough to love

Phases of the Moon

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Dedicated Poems, Friendship, Spiritual

I was the lunatic
Merely a phase of my soul
Glistening in a light not my own
Rarely if ever, could you see me whole

I hid, as the scars of my life defined my existence
My dreams
Were simply a sliver of my imagination
Fading into the penumbra, the darkness of things around me

Losing myself in twilight that was mine to create
I stared at the stars above me, around me
Yet the brilliant warmth they shed reflected from my skin
My purpose was to dance with a partner and be the unnamed

My partner, vibrant and beautiful
I would look onto you and be amazed
My gaze would be so clear, yet sometimes blinded
I could define nothing else without you by my side

I would move closer
Yet never would you be within my reach
My spirit would revolve around your presence
Your grasp on me would lure me for enternity

As I could feel our synergy shape us
As the eb of your heart shifted with the tide
Within each motion, I spiralled out of control
Yet this partnership kept me in your pull

I cannot deny, this partnership would corrupt my faith
When my love had stole your illumination
as I blocked your grace from the heavens
and placing you in darkness turned my passion to fear

When I eclispe your brilliance with my dead gray body
I would only be reborn
as your glowing smile touched my body
and we began the dance from the first step again

Simply Better

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Daily thoughts, Dedicated Poems, Friendship

If someone could simply say

I know of another,
a simple soul
who is perfect in the smallest way
and flawed in the best way

I would say to them

I know of only one
who is not a simple soul
but a brilliant one
who is not perfect in the smallest way
but in the only way that matters
and who may be flawed in the best way
but I wouldn’t know
because they are simply better than I

Creative writing about a friend

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume One, Creative Writing, Daily thoughts, Friendship, Spiritual

I found a kindred spirit. Apparently covered in ash, merely keeping an ember burning while the wind of life attempted to wash the vibrancy of it’s flame from the world. It was quiet yet enticing. Few would have dreamt the subtle glow slowly fading into dream could again breath. Few could have realized such passion could exist in a spark of life that many didn’t even acknowledge. 

 But life, like all dreams – is something that possesses both passion and desire. The smallest of which gives us the power to find ourselves. It gives us the chance to breathe each day and explore the world as we see it. More importantly it gives us the ability to see the figments of life that were originally pieces of our dream, yet now they exist in life because of our own heartfelt desire.

 In this kindred spirit I have found such a piece of life. I see within a single ember a brilliant blazing glory, a fire that leaves my meager heart in awe, a passion for life that wants to consume everything before it. This untamed vibrancy could change the face of the world and everyone who sees it if only they took a moment to care.

 As for now, it is an ember. Covered in ash. Unnoticed by so many.

 How are so many flames left uncared for?

I told you

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Dreams, Friendship, Romantic

I told you, without a moment of hesitation or reluctance
that I,
I love you

I told you, with a feeling of simple pride and creative inspiration
that I,
I believe in you

I told you, as if I was a child playing in the woods and I had just met you
that I,
I would like to be your friend

I told you, if you were an angel and I was standing beneath your light
that I,
I see something great in you

I told you, the moment I found you
that I,
I was never lost once you were in my life

I told you, on every day for the rest of my life
that I,
I am better for having known you

Escape Into Dreaming My Scarlet Eyes

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume One, Friendship, Loss

The unforgettable red stain of mortal tears

So many dreadful nights of heartfelt lies

Scarlet eyes do these days become years

Asking myself why I lost the reason to fly

Finding troubled dreaming my only escape

This bleeding was simply a heartfelt needing to cry

Do you remember the days that were glad

Memories seeding the way for losses so sad

Can you feel this trouble that bled me dry

Does feeling this loss tell you of something we had

A thought of forgiving my dreams without why

Can your meaning of life be simply to die

“Pays de cocagne” (Never Never Land)

Posted by Barry Hurd in Author's Favorites, Coffee - Volume One, Friendship, Spiritual

This dream I had was not an illusion

It was not some mirage that settled my soul

No it was more like a vibrant scene that gave me life

A life so enriched that everyone I loved was here by my side

Can I tell you of this place that only I can see

You do not need to fly to believe in this place with me

No you don’t even need to let your feet leave the ground

You can see this place of fantastic things I found

I created this vision with an imagination so dear

That I could share it with everyone I hold near

Close your eyes and let yourself become a visitor

To this wonderful fantasy that only we can know

Do not dare to think that this place is not within you

I could not try to describe the beauty that I see within us

I would only try to give you this map within your heart

For this figment you dreamt with me I share with you

This feeling of knowing this dream so real

Something that could make both of us fools or even insane

You may realize that we may indeed believe in the surreal

Perhaps even believe of creations that would be inane

But the only thing we need is to allow ourselves to feel

To understand that nothing is everything and only we can see

We will each believe in something different and wildly free

Our souls will always see shades of color with different hue

But what I know of this place will simply be forever within me

If I ever can tell you anything about this place found in dreams so far

Is that places like this we share with each other is who we are

That our dreams and our life is a place of incredible view

And that you’ll never stop knowing, I believe in you