Rocks from the Nullabor

rocks from the Nullabor

milky hued fragments

of a desert story

A small stone

I listen to you
with one ear
and half my face
while writing poems in my mind.

Golden smiles

Winter downpour cannot
extinguish the golden smile
of daffodils.

Ararat library

Once upon a blue moon 

on a rain swept nightway

magic rode past with a smile.

Dual reality

From the boardwalk

I meditate on a dual reality.

A small stone

Winter gives a preview of Spring
before evening shadows
chase the sun behind the hills.

The wearing of rings

Although this challenge is finished I will continue to post other small stones, or observations on life, from time to time.


Wedding and eternity rings
worn thin with the years
rest comfortably against each other
in metaphor of their life together.

Temporary Fix

Fresh from church
his goodwill dissolves
at the first busy intersection.

Small stones of kindness

I don't always see the selflessness
behind small stones of kindness,
but today I did.

Yesterday

Yesterday, I selected a small stone
and then, with my distraction
it lay forgotten as I moved on to other things
lost to the mumblings of cast aside pebbles.

Words

Eager to begin his day, he left
before I awoke, his note
breaking the silence
of an empty kitchen.

Before school

Cumbersome cars nudge and bump
in the race for the most convenient parking space,
walking to be avoided at all costs.

Breaking the fall

today I tripped on a small stone
before I could see it clearly.
embedded in the palm of my hand

from one small drip

on my windscreen
a single drip joins the dots
and a river is born

Lake Burrumbeet

White caps now dance
where wild grasses grew
in the years of no rain.

weeds thrive

leaves huddle from the deluge
against concrete kerbing
where weeds thrive

More school

a four wheel drive, engorged
with it's own self importance
discharges its small cargo

a preppie emerges
a small dot in green and gold,
matching shell on his back

precariously balanced,
I wait for the backward fall
of an upended turtle

Peak hour

Peak hour traffic before the school bell rings,
a race against time.

Shrinkage

My shrinkage becomes evident
beneath the gaze of grandchildren.

The daffodil

at the edge of the garden
a lone daffodil lies, weeping

Reality

Last night I dreamt of the sun
and woke to a grey rain
a damp reality.

Hopes and dreams for sale

outside the lotto agency
a queue forms on the frosty path
warmed by their hopes and dreams

Sparrows dart

Sparrows dart in nest building frenzy
a lesson in recycling.

Mags

The garbage truck pauses
sun glinting off mags;
a civic fashion statement.

The cut

Waist length hair
fans across the floor
as scissors snip and bob.

Grounding

Tai chi on damp grass
to early morning birdsong
grounds me.

as the day slides

as the day slides into the west
I see in its wake
the certainty of tomorrow

Today

Today I boarded the bus
in search of fellow travellers

and small stones for the river.

The bus

The bus passes on the hour
carrying empty seats of passengers
all on the road to nowhere.

For the birds

The child in the tree
echoes my desire
to commune with birds.

Winter

In winter my world contracts
to the perimeter of my hearth

Through the rain

Through the rain the
sun winks with watery eye.

The Winter of my LIfe

Winter

The mountain, like my youth
now hidden behind a veil of grey.

SSE

High in the elder,
an errant shopping bag becomes
a billowing windsock.

Raindrops

raindrops on tin roof pattern my life;

an abstract in dust

Learning the warmth

In the bleakness of Winter, I learn 

The warmth of being.

Holy Habits

Mt St Canice

Convent of the Good Shepherd

where

holy habits

kept slavery alive

Ghosts of the destitute

Ghosts of the destitute, linger

on empty park benches

where spirit voices whisper

 into brown paper bags.

City Park Launceston

Mushrooms

Mushrooms, like truth

break free of the dark.

A corner of my garden

comes in from the cold.

Vase from Pyrenees Pottery Beaufort Victoria

Flowers from Merlene's garden

Timeless service

he walked in the shadows of his youth

unchanged vista

of timeless service to the town

Langi Ghiran

The curtain of leaves drops

to reveal the mountains beyond

Langi Ghiran,

home of the yellow crested cockatoo.

Sunset

Photo of sunset over the Mersey River (Devonport, Tasmania)

Heaven scent

A parody

Rose petals falling

Hands of memory

the hands of memory
carry me back to another time

Magpie

joy is...

a magpie's song

Anticipation

beneath her ribs
butterfly wings flutter
in anticipation

Itchy palm

the palm of my hand
foretells riches of tomorrow

Bullies

bullies lurk
in unexpected places
and people

The colour of life

he hammered
missed
and the air turned blue

Birds

Birds teeter at the edge

all a twitter

and cold of feet.

Daylight savings

as the sun departs

savings are withdrawn

for another time

Mersey River, Devonport, Tasmania

Through an open window

through an open window, a breeze
and a small spider, walk
hand in hand

Raindrops on roses

Raindrops on roses

release the scent of past love.

Autumn

a russet angel swings
on gossamer cord