Liminal spaces

Perched between barren landscapes 
Far as the eye squints
In the distance
Microscopic life dawns
In open spaces unseen
How we relish the resilience
Of some tiny show
Of leaves stalk reaching
Up for sunlight to ignite
It's open tongued grooves
Into being

Yet we find normalised eugenics
Those who exist between the lines
Of normativity collectivism
Turned aside by one
Derided by two
Abandoned by three
Many mouths to feed
Better defend protect
Turn inside out
Than let another
Take the mantle
When the woman till
Ten works then sleeps
A superior breed
To exist in such
Harsh remote conditions
Of isolation
Yet to grace the pages
Of top ten endemic list
For protection
Women and children
Survival of our species

Liquid love

A tale of modern peril
Our cup receives all
Gobstopper sized marbles
Stress weighs us all
Next fit the shiny
Glittery gems
The friends and family
Who never hem in
Sift through the cracks
The sensory spaces
Fine sand of stories
A treasure of faces
When life's limitations
Walls cold hard and thin
One love pours over
Holds everything in

Love like

A tidal wave
We all want to
Be bombarded
With love
Post-service
As desert rose
Where the dirt
Lapped up
Falling droplets
Thirst a daily
Familial ritual
Now I turn and see
The high tide mark
Since last week
And beg to breathe
Bloom and grow
Among kindness
Where gentle waters
Steep near
Woolly Tea Trees
By the creek
Quietly

The garden

Tucked away out of sight
Its secrets lay open
We stroll leisurely
Hopping over tendrils
Peeling back vines
Reminiscent year past
Time allows us
To laugh over
Misspoke words
Jealous greenery
We pause as sunbeams
Illuminate dainty
Cheeks of ripe peach
Silence grows
Like fruiting trees
The seed of many
More meetings
Served with humble pie
And cream
A future like this
Is dear to me
St David’s park, nipaluna / Hobart, lutruwita / Tasmania

All things

You were all things to me
Breathing air seeing none
You meant the whole world
Revolving the sun
Reliving lost dreams
That fled once awake
Exploring new ground
No claiming a stake
Imagining lives
We never would live
Biding our time
For someone to give
kunanyi / Mt Wellington, lutruwita / Tasmania

Treasure

In the harvest moon
Gathering in treasure
From earth’s bed
Storing up long winter

Sometimes applied
To endearing friends
Just as the chill
Sits heavy on mountain

Ringed peak
Like dormant volcano
Absorbing peach sunrise
As ancient desert rock

Sky tinged with frost
Reminiscent golden
Long summer days
Glinting in eye

Love’s storehouse
Slips through fingers
Like shiny coins
Offered to buy freedoms

In a time of plenty
Store and save
Simple pleasures
For long dark days

A treasure is she
Whose girth rings
Pale in comparison
Wise watching over me

Bruny Island lutruwita / Tasmania

Love like

An aviary
A warm unassuming place
Resting among
Like feathered friends
An open door
To the sky
Admired for a whole array
Of vibrant colours
Soft embrace
Hiding under
Ruffled feathers
Smoothed by momentary
Saving grace
Housekeeping covers over
Communal mess forgave
Late night banter
Turns hiding eyes
Into morning wonder
Respite from furred
Predators
Early warnings
Chorus of song
Greets early risers
Refrain unending
Oft recited
Many lifetimes
Lived long