Our eyes met over raised beer glass Through colonial window framed One street away your smile dances across your face Leaning against concrete pillar Alone, yet surrounded By family and loved ones and theirs
I took my place standing still Leaning against cold stone wall Looking at you looking at them The liminal space Between my life and yours So comfortable I've become Looking at you looking at them
A whole hoard of strange faces Lining up behind me One by one A metaphor for why you flew away My family stand behind the stone wall silence with me Invisible to all who call you Home
The back of your head and shoulders Is all I see of the show Your reactions much better entertainment Your laugh like a chorus of music Drowned out by decibels of crowd
Vocal sound recorded on cerebral vinyl Memories played by fine needle In daydream's living room The place we inhabit All along with words said That never materialised Fine dust that crackles In the rare groove of 2021 Smash hit of 'us' No amplifier
This Old Love, seafaring ship Of finest wood & Craftsmanship Its maiden voyage Some four years hence When feral seas drove us West I've sailed her all around the world Docked in places ne'er afore found Secure at anchor, I'd explore Wonders of the world unfold Through rocky isles and coral reefs Its bow has turned me safe to keep All precious cargo Fit and well Squabbling over fine ship's bell The final storm, the wrecking one Wind whipped sail and broached hull She turned us in to sheltered bay The weight of shore broke her away We battled through torrential rain Huddled in the bow all day Then clear, still morn Sun did arise All our crew woke in surprise Old Love was gone to seabed reef For seals and manta rays to sleep We walked ashore and carried on Mountains climbed, beaches swum Though many tales I have to tell Of Old Love's ventures riding swell A ghost ship now No one believes Such vessels are imaginary I tip my hat, to one who'll come To sail away into the sun For tinker, sailor, Captain be This Old Love was made by me
A dandelion Much despised Hardy flower For every dig Sows more seed Until it spreads Its reedy feet All over neighbours' Fallow field A tincture tea To pep the heart Set flight in spring A work of art As little copters Spin on breeze To plant ungovernable Bright young weed
A skein of yarn Can simply not run free If tugged or pulled Will surely wrap In tangled knots of weeks Gently lift Like pick up sticks To unwind tenderly All to work it Round about To clothe Bitter westerly
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!
Only comes out On coldest days Wild wind snaps My face into shape. Any passing stranger Notices cool change Friends embrace Challengers turn tail. It holds space Though never filled Gravitates to places Where eyes first locked Pockets turned inside out Lint was spilled. Gaze darts from butterflies To fleeting smiles Peering through the aisles Of best sellers. Silent goodbyes Are all that linger now.
View of snowy kunanyi / Mt Wellington from The Afterword Cafe.
Count the stars of heaven 