To settle beneath the mire
Of the hightide line
Strewn with seagrass exiled
From its sheltered home
Love drawn between tides
On the shoreline
Melts away with
Wind, rain and storm
Rising sea urges us onwards
Upwards where winged creatures
Hilltop looking for mates
Resting in the glades
Showing true colours
The whole time
Reflecting chance rays
Of sunshine
I keep returning to safe place
In my heart of hearts
Where secrets don't need
To be erased
Where I can love who I love
Offer no explanations
Where we're free to walk
Fields of life arm in arm
How can it be
On the sunniest day
Of the year
There's a storm inside?
To my surprise
Five black birds in the sky
Predicted winds of change
In your eyes
Hello my ancient friend
May I place yet another
Hand on your leg?
Will you spill all secrets
In this brief meeting?
How you thrived
Thousands of adoring
Visitors while growing
Silently, unnoticed
Our footsteps heralded
By birdsong
We celebrate the girth
Of your waist
While post-luncheon
Walkers remark on
New year's resolutions
Aimed at winding back
Time and growth
Of their appearance
It must seem
Very primitive thinking
To such a wise one
Of your worth
You may never know
Until you let go
Whether there's
Something else
To hold on to
Summer solstice and the air is swimming with insects
Rays scoop down to bathe kangaroo grass heads golden
Swaying on waves of breeze surfing on treetops
To break the back of the working week is to finish at midday on Friday
Roll down to the bay with windows down and radio blaring
The kissed sound of a tinnie opening
Smacked on lips evokes guttural sighs and closed eyes smiles all around me
She was brazen as one of the locals
Sandy haired and sun kissed freckled skin chilled as southern air embraces her
First one in heckling others to obey her invitation
Then she'd disappear under the waves to shed her worries
No one ever looked at her sideways
On the spectrum from belief
To nilpotent
I may be strung along
Like a row of pearls
When lightning strikes
The heart of her
She ignites
Fuels her desire
My sweet exterior melts
Reduced to a puddle
To mirror her exuberance
To the sky
Till she hides under blanket
For the night
My youngest was born
On your birthday
All those years ago
He is kind, wise and generous
Born under the same sign
I'd lost memories like quicksand
Till I saw you, resurrected
Now I have dreams to protect you
From prying lips and eyes
All hours I spent
Watching, wondering
Which words would suffice to say
Now I clumsily write them down
In hope for brighter days
I left the lap of nature
For a piece on heritage street
Left behind a part of me
I am yet to retrieve
I long to nurture another
Tending to their wounds
Catching any words that fall
Just like you did for me
Astounding
How I shed my dreams
To please them
If the push pull
Of love seems tough
Remember how to keep
Your heart tender
Recall the one lost
Push back her hair
Hold her cheek
Listen to her speak
Let her words seep
Into the cracks
Unkempt skin
Grown thick
Only to peel away
Layers of regret
Reveal a fine form
Of kind understanding
Shall I harbour
All my feelings
Over a week or two
Or brave the unknown
Weather or not
Of spending time
With you?
Count the stars of heaven 