enlightenment

serenity fills us
when we least expect it
following some unseen pattern

pay attention to the light;
be aware
you are part of something

come closer, don’t fear
we were one
before we were conceived.

12 Dec. ‘09 – Chado

youth

her legs offend them,
bringing to mind a youth forgotten
or which they wish to forget

her hair is subtle protest, they are sure,
deliberate insult
carefully concealed

an avalanche of skateboards
breaks her reverie,
the boys fly past
not one escapes the smell of her,
the old ladies sniff

she smiles,
which they are sure is rude, somehow,
and glides past
carrying with her
their long-buried dreams.

12 Dec. ‘09 – Chado

delicacy

a sip
can bring sunshine,
simple beauty
in light & water

pleasure in
the smallest part,
each drop
appreciation

lightest taste
tip of tongue
opens the window,

now my mind
can breathe.

12 Dec. ‘09 – Chado

heartbreak

it tastes
like the longing in my throat,
the leftover reality
never really sinking in
of just
how
helpless
we can truly be

singing in the night.
a few hours later
watching her climb into the sky,
disappear from sight
the ground
feels arbitrary
beneath my feet;

no connection here,
my heart
cradled in her small hands
flies northward
and leaves me far behind.

9 Dec. ‘09 – Chado

foreign sister

I believe
that when you are gone
we will still feel your dreams

you have become
a native nymph

sister from across the seas
you are no more foreign
than the eucalypt,

your laughter is
the spirit
of our home.

26 Nov. ‘09 -  Chado
For Anna Portas

bell

rushingcrazybusyscramble
hurtleswoonalightconfuzzle
suddenly,
- clear-cut tone -
the world comes into focus.
a shift beneath the surface,
another tone -

a glass bell
at the centre of the storm

26 Nov. ‘09 – Chado

worlds

everything from zen to muppets,
a million worlds meeting
melting into each other

time overlapping

feet : music : travel
my bird, his mother, her house
the threads within these walls

a house is just a house,
until we create
a world of our own

16th November ‘09 – Chado

creaking

carrying a creaking ladder
it calls a rhythm as he walks past,
breaking my monotony

clouds irritable, change their minds
raindrops swell my paper
gentle welts, smeared with ink
I breathe down,

switch legs, breathe again
filled with thoughts
of the elsewhere I’d rather be

I’ve brought nothing to this day;
and no one can call me

isolation whips in

November ‘09

i believe

I believe
this pricklefrost will melt
and that is all I need to do

every block seems
ancient
eternal
gritty
but I believe
and that is all I need to do

the light
and angles of rooftops
piercing my brain, but still
I believe

tomorrow will come unglued
from my freeze-frame unexpectations
and move,
summer will come

I believe
and that is all I need to do.

October ‘09

dreams

The feeling of flying in my feet,
stepping lightly,
criss-cross
doubletake
I’ve got somewhere to be,
but all I can think of
is dreams.

They followed me when I rose,
took the shortcut
met me at the door
intercepted me between thought
and action;

The same dream
resurfaces, chasing
changing each day
but with the same face.

I get lost in a breath
between exhaling and inhaling
there’s a moment;
when I am completely exposed.

Is it there?
Is this where the dreams have crawled in?
Paying no rent,
nor heed,
blowing warmth into their hands
lighting little fires within me -
where flames have long been banished.

September ‘09