You've always known me
But never spoke my name
I was there when you
Stole the pear and were scolded for it.
Loss of innocence
Constant companion
Not often a friend
How else would you know
When to take to the road?
Loss of home
Hillsides and backyards
Over the sea
Walking beside
Though never really seen
Loss of companionship
Stone cold depths of
Silent nights seem
Quiet without voices
Emotions run deep
Loss of me
I accept that you are embedded within
Like a river stone, smooth and sturdy
While life rushes over it
In full spring flood.
I know that I feel it
All the time, unconsciously
It worries me sometimes
How deep it sinks in
Yet, did the river ever wonder
How or why its rocky bed
Ended up buried inside?
Preventing precious sand and silt
From gushing downhill? No
It likely started a millenia ago
As ice carved deep into rock cathedral
Just as parts of me split off
Lost for decades, until now.
Snow melt reveals beauty laid deep
Life flourishes all around it
Sometimes it's heavy, but it grounds me
Save precious gems, my reality.
So this is me letting you go.
Woollens hung on bedside chair
Buckets brimming with outer wear
Sticks and bottles, spikes and flasks
Beanies and even balaclava mask.
Promise of adventure lingers still
On the lee of dreams fulfilled
Anxious thoughts evade like mist
Must protect the glare skin kiss.
Nuts and bars, apple for the car
Cosy comforts carry too far
Tunes to take us on the ride
To alpine wonders, step outside.
'Well I dreamed I saw you walking
Up a hillside in the snow
Casting shadows on the winter sky
As you stood there Counting Crows...'
Lyrics by Counting Crows, A Murder of One
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.
All we can do
To keep our eyes
Focussed on the prize
To keep the walls
around our thoughts
From caving in
'Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all'
Lyrics by Joni Mitchell
Musselroe Bay, NE Tasmania.
"She walks along the edge
Of where the ocean
Meets the land
Just like she's walking on a wire in the circus.."
~ lyrics to Round Here by Counting Crows.
Let grief flow
To try to stop
It’s winding course
Like the force
Of a river
Aching for sea
Opens the way
For opportunity
To know oneself
Obstacles seem
Insurmountable
Compassion may bear
Steady your feet
Plant them deep
Flow with grief
All this time
Tracing the edges
Watching the lines
Ink fills empty spaces
Candy bar colours
From head to toe
Siamese dream
Waking slow
Starlit darkness
Winter solstice smile
Blue morning
Colour me blind
Count the stars of heaven 