I loved my waterbabies
Wanted all my own
Doting watchers nod, clap, smile
As we kick, plunge, dive
Surprised they paid
A teenager so well
To swim and play
With children
No favourites
But one boy
Keen as mustard
From far across
Indian Ocean
Much bigger, older
Than the others
Little I knew
To dip was such
A luxury because
Of the colour
Of the skin
I want to know you
All the ways you're beautiful
From the inside out
The Painted Lady
Saved me today
Escaping cool
Shot of adrenalin
Disturbing a ray
We acquainted
Under waves
Turned tail
Nodded shyly
Red billed spy
From rooftop
Provoked a smile
Chirpy chatter
Sailing treetops
Remind me
What truly matters
Empty bluestone vessels
Walls laden with ancient paint
A sociological observation
In contrast our lives full of whole
Bodies vibrant with first touch of spring
Blessing to exist in these times
Legitimate love
Handed down by generations
Of queer folk missing
In aisles of pews
Meeting in coffee booths
And under apple trees
Unseen walls of tapestries
Growing in knowledge
Of the extent of love
Found within and without
Needing a place to quieten
Suspend all judgement
Fall into arms of lover
All other notions
Idealised
Idea lies
I'd hear lies
A gift of the person
Placed before me
The spirituality of
A healthy dose of wonderment
Immeasurable love
No bounds or limits
Growing exponentially
In response to
Space filled silence
Expanding forever
Into the spectrum
Of stardust
Magnificence
Meanwhile on earth
My two hearts
Explore the inside
Of a tardis
Whirling around me
Though bigger
On the inside
Only takes me
Where I don't
Want to go
One heart palpitates
While the other stable
Who can love twice
In one human body?
Present defines reality
Limited to words
I cannot say aloud
Push the big button
See where it goes?
Take me back
To the time
Before sliding doors
Closed
Single woman cast into
The outback to attend to
Learning of young ones
Bright eyes blinking
Out the windows
To the river leading
To the open sea
Thoughts drifting
Past sand bars
Shore birds nesting
Raising young
Where ancestors raised
A barrel to the sky
For sport or feathered
Game on dinner table
Singular woman
Opens the door
To conserve a future
For the world
Where the lives of
The smallest voiceless
Are preserved
Open your eyes to a new world
Where life is created
The DNA of love
For millions of lifetimes
Travel over to where
We long to see, touch
Observe extinct species
Marvel at primitive instincts
A dangerous love
Born of experimentation
Nativity of reason
Extracted from mosquito
A far fetched dream
Comes to fruition
Playing with fire
Hiding in caves
Best leave this world
To the realm
Of fantastical intentions
If tempted to return
To its arms
Just remember how
Jurassic park ended
Every morning leaving
On time to the skip
Of my feet
Pulling away cartoon TV
Standing six feet away
Millenia in social decree
Lemon sherbet bomb
Milk shakes
Redskins
Sending my mind in a spin
Looking through me
Invisible
Grimace and grin
Leaving words behind
In the dust
Words never heard before
Something about
Let's be friends
Bubble O Bill
Gaytime
Icy pole
Chasing up and down
Stares worlds unknown
Giggle till your sides
Hurt eyes leaving
Tummy aches
Green chip fries
Tears down cheeks
She makes me laugh
No matter what she says
Somehow if my cool I keep
Sticking around
Can't shake me
Holding my breath while
The big girls
Rate me
'Bright young women
Ready to stand
Ready to know
What the people know
Ask them my questions
And get some answers
When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love?
Love to explore
That shore up above
Wandering free
Wish I could be
Part of your world'
~Ariel, 1989. (C) Disney
Part of that world, by Jodi Benson
It's too easy to erase
The space an other takes
No place to call home
No favourite dates
Though in absentia
Loved ones grow
Disproportionate to
Size in life
Taking up thought waves
Morning and night
Sitting snugly beside
On a Saturday night
Saving a seat next to
Chair held by arm
As if waiting for you
To return from the bar
Favourite moments play
Like a love song on repeat
Willing me to believe
Wholeheartedly
Despite not seeing
Feeling or holding
Perfume drifting
Evoking sense bodily
Love is real
John Elliot Museum, University of Tasmania.
Count the stars of heaven 