Saturday, 27 February 2021

Silent treatment



I’m listening
but you keep it in
in the constant din
of this noise we’re in
The silence is deafening
and still you’re keeping it in
You got my head in a spin
when you say nothing
How we gonna win
if you keep it in? 


Steve Wheeler © 27 February, 2021

image by Nuno Martins

Broken souls



I want to hold you 
You want to hold me 
but we're separated by 
a sea of pain 
I would kiss you 
You would kiss me 
and our lives would never 
be the same again

The same sad story 
pain and glory 
with hearts so sore we 
could not find a way 
It's a constant 
kind of torment 
knowing we went 
our separate ways

I want to see you 
You want to see me 
but we're both too 
cold to feel 
I would touch you 
You would touch me 
if we thought 
our hearts could heal

The same conclusion 
there's no delusion 
no consolation 
to bestow 
We reach the end 
we cannot bend 
no way to mend 
our broken souls


Steve Wheeler © 28 February, 2021

image © Steve Wheeler

Thursday, 25 February 2021

[Ever since Berlin]



[Ever since Berlin]
I’ve been calling you
Since we shopped in KaDeWe
I’ve been dreaming you
Strolling down Kurfürstendamm
or above a busy autobahn
you and I are there again
inside my mind

[Ever since Berlin]
Life’s been a mystery
I can’t seem to win
hope seems so lost to me
The Checkpoint Charlie blues
make me feel like I might lose
my smiling little muse
in the rain

[Ever since Berlin]
and the Brandenburg Gate
I’ve been mouldering in
a melancholy state
Are we going to the Wall?
Are we heading for a fall?
Are we going to lose it all?
Is that our fate?

[Ever since Berlin]
Ich liebe dich
I’ve been feeling pretty down
and I need a kick
So back there I will go,
sip some Glühwein in the snow
and I’ll dream of what we know
and you’ll be there


Steve Wheeler © 25 February, 2021


photo © Steve Wheeler 2020

Have you seen the moon?



Have you seen the moon?
Have you really looked?
A harsh mistress or a dainty maid
A balloon deflated and then remade
By day or night in light or in shade
A pockmarked elusive renegade
Have you seen the moon?
Have you really looked?

Have you seen the stars?
Have you really looked?
A string of iridescent beads
A shiny scattering of seeds
A glowing carpet on the breeze
and all the wonder that it breeds
Have you seen the stars?
Have you really looked?



Steve Wheeler © 25 February, 2021

Wednesday, 17 February 2021

Yasmina

I just recorded a reading of one of my new poems for YouTube. Yasmina is about the friendship between a young Syrian boy and a his little friend - a farmyard hen. The poem is taken from my new collection of short stories and poems titled Small Lights Burning. You can check it out and purchase a copy on either Kindle or in paperback via Amazon. 


Saturday, 13 February 2021

Winter sky



The winter writes a shroud 
and imposes its embrace 
upon a cold and grey-white 
landscape. A solitary bird 
flits lost below the cloud 
and as I turn my frozen face 
to gaze upon its lonely flight 
the sun appears. Absurd. 


Steve Wheeler © 13 February, 2021

Friday, 12 February 2021

Dirty knees


Yesterday I announced the publication of my new poetry and short stories collection, Small Lights Burning. 

Below is a poem from the book to give you a taste of what to expect if you buy it. 

This is a poem called Dirty Knees.


Dirty knees and nettle stings 
Climbing trees and angel wings 
Trousers ripped and growing pains 
Seaside trips and daisy chains 

Listening to Slade with sherbet dips, 
lemonade, newspaper wrapped chips 
Mars bars and Pick 'n' Mix, 
Matchbox cars and Scalextric 

Lunchtime bells, cold outside loos 
Desktop ink wells, new school shoes 
Silly nicknames, monster munches 
Playground games and packed lunches 

Moon rockets, ice cream van 
Sand filled pockets, Action Man 
Top of the Pops and Airfix glue 
TV cops and Doctor Who 

Space hoppers, Meccano sets 
Teeny boppers, cuddly pets 
Marble scrambling, Noddy lamps 
Weebles wobble, swapping stamps 

Paraffin heater, skipping ropes 
Blue Peter, Kaleidoscopes 
Spirographs and Etch-A-Sketch 
Lots of fun with Armstrong (Stretch)

Muddy knees and foolish ways 
Buzzing bees and endless sunny days 
Fields of corn and buttercups 
Trousers torn but slowly growing up


Steve Wheeler © 12 February, 2021


In the UK Small Lights Burning is available here:

Amazon UK: Paperback £6.99 Kindle £1.99 


The book is also on sale at the following worldwide locations including:

Australia: Kindle A$3.99 Paperback A$21.76

Brazil: Kindle R$13.61

Canada: Paperback C$11.99 Kindle C$3.49

France: Kindle €2.69

Germany: Kindle €2.69

Italy: Kindle €2.69

India: Kindle ₹195

Japan: Paperback ¥1099  Kindle ¥277

Mexico: Kindle $52.60

Netherlands: Kindle €2.69

Singapore: Paperback S$13.45

Spain: Kindle €2.69

Turkey: Paperback TL68.10

USA: Paperback $9.99 Kindle $2.99