Cures for love list

In the vein of Ovid's Remedia Amoris

Don't let me near a bumblebee
A lizard, owl or slimy leech
No butterflies or hilltop scree
Invertebrates nor anemone
Away with bells of pink or white
Dangling in the dappled light
No trudging through the crunchy snow
Or campstove fires in cabins glow
Pandani, fagus, kangaroo grass
If you want to air the grief
Far away from nature's best
Put this cure-all to the test
Nature lover, wandering free
One never forgets an ecologist!
Stairway to heaven at Freycinet National Park

Middle ground

First time I kissed you
By accident, on cheek
I whispered, "see you soon"
Ablaze, I stepped onto river's edge
- once where we met -
Time and again
To cool my thoughts.

Last time we hugged
It was all you
A friendly pat around broad shoulders
As I stooped down
Like a medal winner
Empty handed

I could not throw my arms around
. It was orchestrated by another
.. my arms were loaded with jackets and books wrapped in cotton
... I knew it would be the last.

Since then, how carefully the silence is conducted through an orchestra of friends.

While I write lyrics to music I can only imagine.
Iron Pot Lighthouse, Cape Blessington, Bruny Island in the distance.

One day

Shelves brimming with books
A leather covered nook
Lace curtain dances
On morning breeze
I hurriedly go to work

One day these pages
Will open to me
I will read aloud
To my love over tea

A neighbour stops
To look longingly
At the morning moon
Snaps it with a long lens
While my blue screen eyes glow

One day I will wake
By the light of the moon
Lying on soft tufts of dry moss
We will curl and trace the sun in morning ritual

Ginger cat curls in winter coat
Around blue flowers soaking low lying sun
Lush grass is mown by guinea pigs on a run
New natives thrive in builder's rubble.

One day, on eve of Spring
I will wade through winter garden's tailings
Gather barrowloads of greens to reveal fresh ground
We will chirp like birds at herbs that survived all odds.
Plant companions for their year ahead.

One day, I hope it comes.
Lime Bay, Tasman Peninsula Tasmania

Alpine adventures

May your winter be as long
As you need to take off
Like a snow angel basking
In its glittery softness

May your climb be as steep as
Your knees can appreciate
To release the adrenalin
High peak's view appease

May alpine flora be abundant
Endless stands of snow gums
Far as the eye, twisted delight
Interspersed bouquets of colour

May twittering friends be close
Watching over your steps
Light feathered entertainment
As you stop and catch your breath

May adventures be far enough
To exhilarate, yet close
So friends can safely join
To share a tea along the way.
View from kunanyi / Mt Wellington, Tasmania.  Photo by Sara Stevens.

Some Other Soul

Save me not
From this world
Shop of horrors

One who will
Save me yet
From myself

Perpetual
Broken heartedness
Self imposed abandon

Whose presence
Has gravity
Of the kind kind

Holds up a mirror
Says, I like your flaws
They match your expectations

Then we hold hands
Into the wide blue
Sky, sea and yonder

Once it turns
Red, orange, pink
Sit in wonder

Till sleep befalls
Stars unnumbered
Past light future wish

Some other soul
Like mine