Neil Shaw

Neil Shaw was born in New York, New York and grew up on Long Island. From his earliest age he became one with Nature. The land, the sea and wildlife have played a big part in his life. Naturalist, adventurer, philosopher, businessman, rancher, boater, songwriter, inventor, he has traveled widely. He and his wife Maria live in the Adirondack Mountains.

Poetry: Mirror Mirror

February 25, 2023 by Neil Shaw 2 Comments

Mirror Mirror

Looking in the mirror, the mirror in your mind,
Wanting to see a reflection, yet afraid of what you might find,
Looking backwards doesn’t help, look forward but you can’t tell,
Perhaps a glimpse of Heaven or the burning fires of Hell.

Life is like a journey, a trek on down the road,
The pleasure and the pain vary, depending upon the load,
You wonder whether you cause it, or if it just happens that way,
Whether it really makes a difference, if you do or do not pray.

It would be nice to take a corner in the back part of your mind,
Build a room without any lights, for those things you don’t want to find,
The bad stuff in your life that you never wanted to be,
So there’ll be no more remorse, or sorrow, again, to see.

Poetry: Wrath

December 31, 2022 by Neil Shaw 1 Comment

Wrath

She’s contained her anger for eons now,
Stored it up and waited to see,
If man would grow wise, improve his ways,
And live together in harmony.

Opportunity was there, since time became time,
But still not the proper response,
So now her vengeance begins to come forth,
First a breeze, then a drop, then the storms.

The earth begins shaking, man cries out,
Fear foremost in his mind,
Tall buildings crumble, homes slip away,
Whole villages, up the middle, divide.

The winds, fiercely howling, push up the seas,
Their walls climbing fifty feet high,
In the heart of the land the ground is all cracked,
With riverbeds powdered and dried.

The sun’s numbers climb into the three figure range,
Thousands of acres on fire,
Northern lands all ice and snow,
Freezing man’s will and desires.

People in panic, hysterically crying,
Will do anything to come through alive,
Now becoming acutely aware,
Of the need for their partner to survive.

Poetry: A Chance

December 3, 2022 by Neil Shaw 2 Comments

A Chance

The world today is overwhelming,
Was it this way back in the past?
Things keep changing every second,
Is it too much to want them to last?
The very essence of man is being lost,
Do we want to be electronically controlled?
With our numbers increasing like colonies of ants,
Will individuality become stories untold?
The earth was so rich, magnificence was there,
Is it possible we just couldn’t see?
It seems there’s still a chance to turn things around,
But, sadly, doesn’t seem likely to be.

Poetry: Andaman

October 15, 2022 by Neil Shaw 1 Comment

Andaman

Islands rising from the sea, misty images in the night,
Palm leaves rustle in the breeze,
A sliver of moonlight tints the sky.
Grains of sand are sailing high, carried on the wind,
Time, as always, passes by,
With no recollection of where it’s been.

Ocean’s waters rise and fall,
Powdered clouds drift by above,
Mountain streams come trickling down,
Playing melancholy tunes on vibes of stone.
Sun shines down on fields of green,
Sweet scents permeate the humid air,
Wheat fields swaying, keeping time
To an ancient rhythm, Nature’s beat,
No words are needed……. this part’s divine.

Poetry: Lunacy

August 27, 2022 by Neil Shaw 2 Comments

Lunacy

Inflation is the whip, greed is its master,
Scheming megalomaniacs creating mass disaster,
For all of those people, psychological slaves,
Caught up in the whirlwind, a shuttle to their graves.

Life too complicated for mankind to enjoy,
Overpopulated, the Land being destroyed,
Hard to find a place alone, with room to wander free,
Now plugged in from dawn to dusk, electronic lunacy.

Wires dangling from the ears, fingers pushing keys,
Prisoners in concrete towers, away from Nature’s breeze,
Glued to screens for endless hours, not outside in the sun,
Better re-evaluate, for time is on the run.

Poetry: About The Way

July 16, 2022 by Neil Shaw 1 Comment

About The Way

I’m impassioned, yet bewildered, at how to right the wrong,
Put my feelings into words, and make it come off strong,
About the error in our direction, about the flaws in the plan,
About the disrespect for Nature, about the shortcomings in man.

We are creatures of the land, and the sustenance it brings,
We’re about the natural beauty, and its many wondrous things,
About the mountains and the forests, about the deserts and the seas,
About the rainbows and the flowers, and the joy of being free.

So I grapple with the words, try to make them come out right,
Ponder thoughts throughout the day, re-think them through at night,
About the options that we have, about the life that we could see,
About the balance that’s so possible, about the way that it should be.

Poetry: Spin Painting

May 7, 2022 by Neil Shaw Leave a Comment

Spin Painting

Blood spurted out from pale nostrils,
White stars surrounded green eyes,
Rocks crashing down on soft foreheads,
Glaring shock, the result of hot lies.
Explosions occurred all around me,
The pole, for a moment, stood still,
Missions were burnt in a cloud-burst,
Sparks flew through the air in the chill.
Vines, breathing fire, began crawling,
While the globe lay there burning too fast,
Aqua leaves, off red branches, were falling,
Scarred women all wept for the past.
Kaleidoscope spun in the meadows,
The heavens awkward and still,
Illusions of love danced around me,
The cadence increased with the thrill.
Hot flash! Then it all started slowing,
Beads of sweat became salty and dried,
Flaming disc in my mind sank fast, glowing,
I just stared at the colors and cried.

Poetry: The Holy Braille

April 2, 2022 by Neil Shaw 2 Comments

The Holy Braille

Not seeing, but feeling. Not seeing, but being able to discern,
like the difference between bad and good………
Feeling correctness – eliminating prejudices and hatred.
Feeling the joy derived by giving pleasure to others.
Feeling the goodness in man.
Feeling the splendor of appreciating and living in harmony with Nature.
Feeling the balance by controlling our population.
Feeling our magnificence, by breeding out the undesirable,
inherent, qualities in man.
Feeling satisfaction, by differentiating which technologies are important
and which are products of greed and shortsightedness.
Feeling pride in having leaders with these qualities.
Feeling inner peace – finally being able to see.