We play, rest, rise Woven skein unwinding Houses apart, river abreast Taking tea on balcony
Always a mystery of two minds No sensation for downcast eyes Cascading words lost and find Fruitless picking out motivations
The bottom of pot, cooled Renewed, steeped brew simmering heat Rose between two cheeks
A blush sweet from scorching sun Below 42 degrees Blistering sleet
Homebody, I nest alone Full grown tenderlings Binding fallen threads Of existence into thermal weave
So that you, like father Can protect and heal wind kissed skin As salty drops slide winsomly A welcome sting. Long missed love
Ursula Halpin, (1972- ) ‘Displaced Mary, Mother of hope’ ~ inspired by Irish lace. Weaves stories of women and fragmented families. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Twist exhibition 2023
Once a many ravens
Perched on picnic walls
Encroaching so daringly
Staring back and forth
Babes in arms were cradled
Toddlers stopped from harm
Backed away hauntingly
Edge from warm spring calm
Escape to caves below
Calcified remains.
Hundred years a column
Ancestors' way laid
Cacophany of cries
Heard across the skies
Sharp eye of witnesses
Those who bled and died
~Inspired by The Nightingale Film (2018)
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
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
Count the stars of heaven 