Poems

About the Poet:
William S. Peters, Sr. Is not only a writer and poet but also a publisher who has published many prolific international authors. Bill has been committed to writing, specifically poetry, narratives and short stories since 1966, and has produced over 50 volumes of work. He is a believer in the possibilities. Bill says that "life is but a garden  be mindful of the seeds you sow".




Conformity

We act out the roles,
Thespians we are,
Conforming to ideologues
Constructed just
For minds like ours

Forced to make choices
Of which side of the fence
We choose to indulge,
While many are immobilized
And can not go
One way or the other
While our thoughts vascillate
In the maleable seas
Devoid of certainty
And moral compass

Today we are,
Tomorrow,
Somewhere else
Chasing rainbows and dreams
In search of that elusive
Pot of gold

We listen too often
To the wrong whispers
That hide in the shadows
Of our brilliance
Which feed on our soul's
Celestial and divine light

We seek to attract favor,
Albeit darkly influenced...
We dress the part
We don the masks and smiles
With falsehood
While betraying our innate Soul

What expectations do dreams offer
When we refuse to stand?
To what resolve is Hope
When we refuse to walk
The path ?

We eat of the gardens
Where bitter fruit flourish,
And we feed our children the same
In the namerl of
One Saviour or another
While Mother provides us with
All the nurturing we seek

Conformity is easy
For it requires no
True commitment
To the right ways of righteousness,
And in some strange dimension
Of expression
We have learned to
Be OK with that
Because all around us
This modicum of behavior
Has become the norm

Listen,
The storms are coming,
So gather thy will to survive
And fill thy closets and storehouse
With the sustenance
That will feed thee
Thy children,
And thy neighbor

Open your hearts,
Lay them bare
And embrace that spark of light
That still shines
In the deepest recesses
Of thy Holy being-ness
.....
Conform not
To the ill-winds of deceit,
Clear thy mind
Of the invasive viruses
Of persuasion
And walk the know path
As directed by ... 'THAT'
That seed of inner Truth.

(c) 4 june 2025 : william s. peters, sr.




Running out of time?

Devils, ghouls and demons
And inhumane humans
Walk surreptitiously amongst us
Greed, war and whore mongering
And we the children hungering
While chanting "in god we trust"

I do pray we awaken
Before all is forsaken
As we near the 'final' hour
Please look deep inside
Where your 'god-self' hides
And reclaim your birthright power

Is 'time' running out
While we but lament and pout
About the conditions we endure
Change is past due
I thought that you knew
If not our demise is sure

Yes I too do pray
By night and by day
For that miracle to finally come
But in the end I have to ask
Have I addressed change's task
And gave the best/whole of my sum

As they say, 'life goes on'
Until it's all gone
While we sit and anxiously wait
We must now make a choice
And let our sacred voice
Be heard before it's too late.

We are ....
Running out of time!


(c) 17 may 2025 : william s. peters, sr.




Breathing Gratitude

Life is but a succession of moments
Strung together on a string
That at times
Seems to have no end

Cherish each one,
As you travel along
Life's pathways
And thus 'Life' will reveal
Unto you its warmth,
Its embrace,
It's meaning.

Memories,
Sweet, bitter and otherwise
Are birthed
In these moments
.....
We tend to hold on to,
Cherish,
The sweet and the bitter,
However,
The other ones,
The moments oft forgotten
Do have their own
Character and significance
.....
Had i not stumbled and fallen,
How would I have ever learned
To rise again?

I crawled, I ambled,
I walked, I ran

There were moments
I was confused,
And thus ....
Clarity and focus
In time
Came about

There were moments
That i held onto things,
Perhaps far too long,
But in most cases,
Time, the collection of moments
Taught me how
Let go

Some moments appear to be fruitless,
However,
Trust in the 'moment'
For they all yeild something....
Some seen,
Some unseen.
Some known,
Some unknown

Every great stew
Is born of raw the ingredients
That someone labored
To gather,
Prepped and prepared,
Brought together
At the right time,
Heated in the collective moments,
Seasoned
And thus becomes a
Platable and hopefully palatable
Offering

It is those moments that
We push forward
Towards the rewards and promises
That they may be fulfilled

Cherish them all,
Fill each breath
With gratitude,
And each and every moment
Has the potential
To reveal unto you
Its magic .. .

Me?, .... I am
Breathing Gratitude...
Each moment!
It is a much better place
To Be.


(c) 9 may 2025 : william s. peters, sr.



The Promise

Deep within the annals of my soul
There abides a sacred promise
That one day I shall return
To the womb of life
From which I was spawned

There we shall rejoice,
My Ancestors and i
As we revisit the footsteps
Of our collective journey
Through the trials and tribulations
That defined the character
Of who we are.

No, we did not acquiesce 
Nor did we bow our heads
And accept the subservience
That others attempted to put upon us.

I, we are noble souls
Souls of the 'One'
Who has nurtured us,
Embraced us in the spirit
And embedded in our souls
The word that lives
Beyond eternity ....
The Promise


(c) 6 - 10 may 2025 : william s. peters, sr.



The Road Map called Fate

The only one responsible
For the life we lead
Is us

We are the designers,
The creators
Of this path we travel
Called Fate

We have selected each
Of the nuances
We celebrate,
We suffer
To satisfy
Past Karmic debt
And to establish
The definition
Of our horizons

There is no 'happen-chance',
There is only
What is suppose to 'BE'
As it was written
In the scrolls
We ourselves exacted
As destiny

Cry not,
Weep not,
Lament not,
Rather let us learn
To be resolute
And celebrate
Our own construct,
This Road Map
Called Fate


(c) 30 april 2025 : william s. peters, sr.


www.iamjustbill.com

*Collected from the poet by Md Ejaj Ahamed*