tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66383113272334214922024-02-07T16:49:12.758+10:30heartbeat poecyheartbeat poecy is personal prayers shared, but not private prayers violating public space, because faith is a shared experience. All readers should keep in mind Oscar Wilde's note that "all bad poetry springs from genuine feelings".Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-36183501212081235592013-11-25T09:58:00.001+10:302013-11-25T09:58:14.545+10:30super-late mega update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here are the poems I submitted for my final folio in my Writing Poetry subject. There's a sonnet in there, so watch carefully! Some fiction, some faction, some familiar, some totally fresh. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>imitation</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Having
never been aware</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">of
the advent of wikipedia.org </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
failed to prepare a suitable section for 'personal life', </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">being
far too focussed on ruthless and bloodthirsty dictatorship. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
whimsical facts apparently so necessary for modern audiences eluded
me, and all I can supply instead are the numbers of lives I took,
while defending the voice of freedom. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Apparently
though, I look good in a wig,</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">but
everybody wore them,</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">so
I'm not quite sure why that's surprising news. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In
your time if a man wears a wig, </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">he's
singled out for public blandishment,</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">as
though it is right to demand a full head of hair til death do you
part upon the altar of age. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But
no! It is not right! I demand a fair trial!</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A
people's court!</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
swish and spring of the guillotine!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ah,
Madame Guillotine, I always dressed for you in the finest of white
stockings, </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">applauded
your efforts to shave the unruly beard off the national escutcheon. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
also quite enjoy having a huge, weapon,</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">rising
up above the crowd, </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">statuesque
symbol of...</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">symbol
of...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My
advice to all future dictators is simple,</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">and
garnered from my experience and that of my friends. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Don't
allow young women to meet with you in your medicinal bath. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Don't
shoot yourself in the jaw (it hurts). </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Don't
encourage the people into too many rash and swift executions, yours
will be next. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Do
however make as full use as possible of such words as 'committee',
'public' and 'safety', and I can recommend a little brandy in the
morning</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">to
get in you in the mood for </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">signing
endless documents</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">and
meeting with smelly men. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Spurned, or, Human
Error</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">He was a barb:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">a fragment of glass,
swallowed accidentally. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">He scraped first at her
lips, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(her words caught)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">next, her throat</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(shredded, twisted into
knots). </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But it was the long, slow
descent, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">through metres and metres
that nearly killed her:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">internal bleeding the
least of the worries</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">as they lay together, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(her heart screaming)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;">him sleeping, her
distressed. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> Never had a minds
meeting, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> never nothing but a near
miss.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Childhood</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When you were leaving,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and picking up your keys from the console table,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and rifling through your bag,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and going on about whether you’d need a taxi for this evening,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I wondered if I should tell you that</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
in my dreams last night</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I floated on a magic carpet</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
in a scene not dissimilar the sequence in Aladdin</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
that we used to watch together</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
while mum cleaned the kitchen</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and let us eat popcorn</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and sang along loudly when we turned the music up.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I didn’t want to listen to the details of your day,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but remember the feeling</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of flying without falling,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
that even though,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
usually,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
sitting on a carpet is not exactly comfortable</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
for long periods of time,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
in transit, this one felt</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
like a soft cushion of air,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
plush fibres</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and a large dose of subconscious recognition</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
that I was still lying on my own bed,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
cradled by the extra, sheepskin layer I put on it in the winter,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and we used to speak of such things</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
when I was less anxious</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and you were less busy</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and we generally chatted</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
between our bunks </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
after lights out in the evenings,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
so pointless in daylight saving,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
as the glow through the plastic venetians</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
continued to reveal the</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
shapes and textures of the room. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In earnest voices we'd discuss</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
almost any thought that crossed our minds,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the way we felt when tuna-bake was served again</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
on silent Sundays, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
a gastronomic ritual we both disliked. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We'd speak about the books we'd read</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and I'd advise,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
from my obvious maturity</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the best way to deal with grandparents.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Are we grown-ups now, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
is that the problem?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The reason I can no longer speak</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of frivolous dreams</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and vague impressions?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Do suits impose a verbal prison from which</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
no ordinary words can be spoken,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
only business mish mash and </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
public speech?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You said, “goodbye, I'll see ya later”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
closing the door before my reply. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“My magic carpet's better than yours,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and I don't give a stuff about your boyfriend”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to the empty room,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the blank door, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the missing voices. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>word to Derrida</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You are a black hole,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
whose centre is a vacuum. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I am a solar system, </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
whose centre is a sun.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>for Paris</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Not cold in her grave she lies,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but hot.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Baked back to clay by unforgiving sun.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Three days have passed,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but life's light does not sink down,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
piercing thick layers of soil to touch her.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Life's light has not reached</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
her stiffening, suffocated body at all.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Her silent lips are mimicked now</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
by silent stares above.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
She speaks not death's dark secrets,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
while blind teachers disclose empty truths.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Platitudes.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Milk stuff,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to minds starved of meat,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
so needed for their journey ahead.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Paris died.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Small child.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And every womb cried out,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
empty arms groped for their beloved.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
No no no no no no no.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Don't worry yourselves about it,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
it didn't happen,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but it did,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
so we should shut up now</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and eat some chocolate.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hallmark words will not revive her,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
no kiss of life can now resuscitate.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But yet,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
your voice may find her,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
through soil and darkness penetrate.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Unafraid of death's dark shadow,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
powerful truth, now spoken as command.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Resurrect!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And light will blind her,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
breath shall find her lungs again.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>sunset</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Soon your hands will wither.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Those veins you can barely see now</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
will strike new wrinkles in your skin,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
rise up over softened crevices.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Your neck will slouch,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
descend to meet the breasts that</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
also have descended</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
down down down</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to meet the bottomless belly</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
draped over wasting thighs.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Soon, soon, as time reveals, exposes,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
your body will fold in, replace,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
become unrecognisable.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This skin contorts, transforms,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
is plastic</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
in the image of its maker.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A constant reminder</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of your fragility, changeability, liminality,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the fine, filmy substance of your physical existence</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
in this epoch.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You should EMBRACE</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
this final, flaming, sunset spark,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the glory unparalleled of being allowed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to dance and shine before your maker.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And then, look forward</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to dawning again,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
upon a world remade,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
fresh light,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
new skin,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
new blood.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-46442841281565773142013-08-29T21:52:00.002+09:302013-08-29T21:52:46.899+09:30Remembrance Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">She knows the
names</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">of the trees</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">on their walk</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">through
stippled grave stones,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">untamed
grasses. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Spring sun
spears </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">fat broad
leaves</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Moreton Bay
Fig,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Acacia,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Larch.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">He wonders and
wanders,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">from tomb to
tomb:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">the naming of
things,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">a mythical art </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">too puzzling
for him to scry out.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Oh look! An
anchor,”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">salvage of
ship-wreck,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">called in now
for memory's mark. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Was it Cutty
or Dunbar?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">he used to
remember,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">worrying now
that it's all gone, too far.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">It's ok
darling, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">let's visit
your Mother”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">nervous of what
they called</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">'undue
distress'.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Gently she
guides him, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">past white
mausoleums</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">small mound,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">black cross,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Robyn's nest.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">She's dead?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">and he kneels, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Ten years in
November”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">It doesn't
seem possible”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Well it's
quite certain now.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">You're
angry.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Just tired.
I want to go home.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Well we
shall, </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">by the
butcher's.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">And so they
return.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Past Moreton
Bay Fig,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">Acacia</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">and...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Big Caslon;">?</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-3868781742277002242013-08-21T22:33:00.001+09:302013-08-21T22:33:46.015+09:30Do It Yourself<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The table waits,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
cradling the nail he
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
meant to hammer in that afternoon, but,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
lost, on his way to the fridge, he
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
never now will fix.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Wasted in waiting,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
for a blow that never comes
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
though</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
unexpected falls elsewhere.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The busted leg, its</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
grain split open waits</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to catch every passing friend and</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
every time reminds</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of missing piece.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I just submitted this for workshopping in my poetry class, so thought I'd share it with you all :-)</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-73440804832747796472013-08-11T22:15:00.000+09:302013-08-11T22:15:42.067+09:30word to Derrida<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You are a black hole,<br />
whose centre is a vacuum.<br />
I am a solar system,<br />
whose centre is the sun.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-46938581222257850102013-04-28T22:25:00.000+09:302013-04-28T22:25:11.093+09:30one day I almost died<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It was a strange reminder,<br />
a sudden recollection of the past.<br />
<br />
For so long, I had lived under the shadow of death,<br />
at that crucial time,<br />
the confrontation of mortality was<br />
face to face<br />
scan to scan<br />
day to day<br />
breath to breath.<br />
<br />
It shaped my whole being for a while.<br />
<br />
I tossed it off glibly,<br />
gladly,<br />
in a way,<br />
as soon as that hypothetical threat passed.<br />
<br />
But it haunted me,<br />
colouring my view a little darker,<br />
a little greyer,<br />
like the twilight when a storm's approaching.<br />
<br />
Somehow,<br />
somewhere,<br />
sometime,<br />
that tension wore off.<br />
<br />
I haven't thought for some time now<br />
how close I was to death,<br />
how far I was from death,<br />
how ever second,<br />
every minute,<br />
we all draw closer and closer<br />
and yet remain exactly as far away as before.<br />
<br />
Other cares have crowded in,<br />
smaller in a way,<br />
why should any of them matter<br />
in comparison to the final embrace<br />
of black isolation,<br />
howling rooms,<br />
never-ending silence.<br />
<br />
But it's not simply the fact<br />
that my firm conviction<br />
(at least on Tuesdays, some Friday afternoons, and maybe one or two other times every week)<br />
in the resurrection of the dead,<br />
and the life everlasting,<br />
amen,<br />
has grown in stature and solidity<br />
since those days.<br />
<br />
But that my natural, human forgetfulness,<br />
ability to be distracted,<br />
failure to remember every day,<br />
drags me further and further away<br />
from old scabs I've stopped picking at,<br />
until one day,<br />
I brush against the old place<br />
and realise<br />
<br />
the scar is gone. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-47114605784509777452013-04-12T13:06:00.000+09:302013-04-12T13:06:55.088+09:30ode to winter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Shadows lengthen - winter is here!<br />
<br />
Frost breathes sparkling spirals,<br />
transforming banality with fine, filmy fairy floss.<br />
<br />
Winter is here!<br />
<br />
Time is suddenly found for the long, lingering dinners<br />
frantic summer's pace excludes.<br />
Conversation winds and wends<br />
conquering boundaries, dividing lines;<br />
slow-cooked meals allowing slow, thoughtful answers.<br />
<br />
Winter is here.<br />
<br />
Summer sun mellows to winter, water-bottle friend,<br />
warm rays become a couch to lean on,<br />
arm to embrace.<br />
<br />
Summer heat freezes, stifling no more.<br />
Scarves, rather than suffocate,<br />
caress, encircle, celebrate;<br />
cacophony of colours,<br />
trumpeting life in defiance of somnolent snow.<br />
<br />
Winter is here.<br />
<br />
I know world over,<br />
winter means death:<br />
frozen ground,<br />
frozen bodies,<br />
for evermore shrouded by the heartless snow,<br />
concealed from summer's verdant glow.<br />
<br />
Cold comfort's found<br />
by empty fireplace,<br />
winter slowly asphyxiating,<br />
blue-tinged lips, fingers, face.<br />
<br />
In extremity, winter frightens,<br />
clarion call of death,<br />
warning of unflinching finitude.<br />
<br />
And yet,<br />
<br />
winter calls forth resolute resistance,<br />
brave battle against all-conquering elements!<br />
<br />
What can be more triumphant<br />
than the explosion of daffodils<br />
after unrelenting frost?<br />
The burst of bluebells from frost-bitten bulbs,<br />
tingling their colourful victory<br />
over death's pale shadow?<br />
<br />
Winter is here.<br />
<br />
But it shall not stay.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-87253142308118674602013-04-05T13:34:00.001+10:302013-04-05T13:38:28.875+10:30best blogs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Have just been flicking back through some old entries, looking for inspiration in a new project. Came across this one, <a href="http://heartbeatpoecy.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/tabernacle-series-2-rahabs-house.html" target="_blank">Tabernacle Series #2 - Rahab's House</a>, and thought, gee, who wrote that?! It's pretty good really! I barely recognise myself... </div>
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<br /></div>
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So, anyway, my only actual update for you today is this... </div>
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<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BAB2013" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeQe-h3WflXffwJIaiUUx_KgSaZasELVe4BrBhLR7bfFtIrFgd9tUQ-QuUp9i4q48MB1JuqhezT_fSGwpJDc6vUsUEaWIC9WbgHBXGUJtYK5OzcDT26raQGNmmg8cNS-ZM-ldYk3BIdqR/s1600/BB2013-PCA-vote.png" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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That's right, we've reached that time of year again where I measure your love for me in volume of votes ;-) Vote early, vote often, and vote for my friend <a href="http://sydneysnackattack.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Josh</a> too, because his blog is HILARIOUS!! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Love love.</div>
<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BAB2013" target="_blank">www.surveymonkey.com/s/BAB2013</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-31074235529677111012013-03-27T13:41:00.001+10:302013-03-27T13:41:50.086+10:30example<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
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<div>
I wrote this yesterday as an example of a group poem. It's a writing exercise I stole from the magnificent Adrian Plass - each member of the group finishes a sentence such as "our God is..." or "the righteous are" and the results are read out together. I've done this in a few sizes of groups, and it's magnificent every time to see the variety of emotional expression in our individual relationships with God. It's also quite thrilling for people who'd never attempt poetry to see what is possible, and, I think, brings a new depth of appreciation. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll be sharing this exercise in my bible study group next week - maybe you could try it in a group you're in? It doesn't have to be on a 'religious' theme!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Our God is...</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Our God is a breath of pure oxygen after a day of smog.</div>
Our God is awesome, mighty and powerful. </div>
Our God is the reason I get up in the morning. </div>
Our God is a far off Father who always seems angry.<br /></div>
Our world is a desperate place, full of striving and wasted energy.</div>
Our world is startling in its beauty, terrifying in its terrors.<br />Our world is full of people who need God.</div>
Our world is a place that makes me tired.<br /></div>
The wicked are many, and seem to get away with everything.<br />The wicked are probably misunderstood. </div>
The wicked are as in need of grace as I am.<br />The wicked are people that think only of themselves.<br /><br />The righteous are ridiculously lucky, they don't deserve what they're getting.</div>
The righteous are failures saved by grace.<br />The righteous are really annoying sometimes, because they think they know it all. </div>
The righteous are people transformed by God.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-77536534782188602442013-03-19T17:04:00.001+10:302013-03-19T17:04:34.078+10:30quote mis-quote quote<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Be still and know that I am God<br />
you said.<br />
<br />
More like,<br />
shut up! And keep your place!<br />
<br />
A terrifying command at first.<br />
The kind that sends little kids scurrying to the bathroom,<br />
minuscule bladders trembling with fear.<br />
<br />
Shut up! Stop your chatter and clatter!<br />
<br />
A bruising command at first.<br />
I don't really need to be told yet again to silence my self-expression.<br />
My whingeing response?<br />
Or the heartfelt cry of one who's been silenced too often?<br />
<br />
Keep your place!<br />
<br />
At the dinner table.<br />
At the kitchen sink.<br />
In the back row.<br />
In the uncomfortable pose while I fiddle with my lens.<br />
<br />
A frustrating command at first.<br />
Pure restriction,<br />
when the spirit wants to soar and spring,<br />
shout and bellow.<br />
<br />
Be still, and know that I am God.<br />
<br />
On second glance,<br />
a calming statement,<br />
even though shouted.<br />
<br />
It's the silencing of all those busy body noises,<br />
the sniping, griping, swiping. slandering,<br />
muttering, grumbling, nattering, chattering<br />
of voices that need to be quieted.<br />
<br />
It's the settling and subsiding<br />
of the nervous twitches,<br />
needless, ceaseless, tiring travelling,<br />
relentless wandering and chasing of the world.<br />
<br />
It's the subduing of the angry fist,<br />
the brutal boot.<br />
The pacifying of the raging and roaring.<br />
<br />
It's the order from chaos<br />
of a minute of silence<br />
in the heat of battle.<br />
<br />
Shut up! And know you're not the boss.<br />
Shut up! And listen to what you've been doing.<br />
<br />
Be quiet, and rest in His arms. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-19394730588811656122013-03-06T14:23:00.001+10:302013-03-06T14:23:31.918+10:30wounded<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
bruised<br />
battered<br />
beaten<br />
worn<br />
<br />
Can I get a sling for my whole body?<br />
<br />
A bandage for my soul?<br />
<br />
When you poke me, it hurts,<br />
whether in jest or no.<br />
<br />
When you slap me, it stings,<br />
old wounds re-open.<br />
<br />
I can't cope with much more at the moment,<br />
please soothe my sores,<br />
bind up my broken heart<br />
and re-make me whole. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-69838053327022394022013-02-28T23:59:00.000+10:302013-02-28T23:59:08.925+10:30Competition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hey friends, </div>
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<br /></div>
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Just letting you know I've entered the Australian Writer's Centre Best Australian Blogs 2013. </div>
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<br /></div>
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There'll be a People's Choice Award which I'd love you all to vote in, and I'll let you know when that kicks off.</div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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xx</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzVAbhfynj2s9mZTAU45dInTwCja6hjMYQNvjL_jFYpLqgZpxA9zQosl5VqwYsk1SwxsmfVHqIKxPoMPXzBc9xQQMf-6LJZfVuPsgfye8fE6ZEydyFQHwPOfmT73NKpcMmhNdJfcpICDf/s1600/BB2013_Nominee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzVAbhfynj2s9mZTAU45dInTwCja6hjMYQNvjL_jFYpLqgZpxA9zQosl5VqwYsk1SwxsmfVHqIKxPoMPXzBc9xQQMf-6LJZfVuPsgfye8fE6ZEydyFQHwPOfmT73NKpcMmhNdJfcpICDf/s1600/BB2013_Nominee.png" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-55528265588973070202013-02-25T16:01:00.000+10:302013-02-25T16:05:14.162+10:30abnormal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So it turns out it's not normal,<br />
this feeling that my eyes are always three hours more tired<br />
than the rest of my body.<br />
<br />
The optician asks,<br />
"have you noticed anything abnormal recently?"<br />
I say, "what's normal?"<br />
<br />
She smiles quizzically,<br />
thrusts the machine in front of my eyes,<br />
makes a few adjustments and says,<br />
"not your sight".<br />
<br />
So, now I need to wear glasses.<br />
<br />
<br />
So it turns out it's not normal,<br />
this feeling that my body is just a body,<br />
with good bits and bad bits,<br />
bits that I quite like,<br />
bits I think other people like.<br />
<br />
The photographer grimaces in concentration,<br />
stands back with his head cocked to the side,<br />
then tucks me in behind dresses, bridesmaids and the flower girl,<br />
my concealment now bringing the photo back to balance.<br />
<br />
So, now I feel like the photogenic failure, and just want to hide.<br />
<br />
<br />
So it turns out it's not normal,<br />
this feeling that every day is a melancholy farce,<br />
another opportunity to feel disconnected, depressed and alone.<br />
<br />
The friends smile in happiness to see me,<br />
warm hugs, loving eyes,<br />
offers of support and an understanding attitude.<br />
<br />
So, now I have to remember that I cannot measure normal.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-45827756088433455892013-02-18T15:13:00.001+10:302013-02-18T15:13:08.515+10:30the leafWorn thin<br />
by long neglect between the pages of this book, <br />
once plumply green<br />
now anorexic grey. <br />
<br />
Leaf between leaves, <br />
but not of like kind, <br />
separated by alien processes, <br />
manufacture, <br />
sale, <br />
mass produced mimics of this fairies paper:<br />
a leaf whose veins can no longer suck <br />
green blood from sap-filled trunk, <br />
cut off, <br />
displaced, <br />
withdrawn and yet<br />
<br />
beauteous still, <br />
fine, frail skeleton reflecting fierce, <br />
fearful life of the original. <br />
<br />
There's wonder in a corpse, <br />
and reason finds<br />
fair cause for treasured burial. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-61644622670338294852013-02-13T22:00:00.000+10:302013-02-13T22:00:30.678+10:30surprise me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Comedian stood,<br />
bold, sardonic, creative, generous, thoughtful and wise.<br />
<br />
a howl from the rooftops,<br />
<br />
a quiet question, echoing into the night.<br />
<br />
"Who is the lucky one?"<br />
The quick or the dead?<br />
<br />
The ones who've exited this plastic fantastic,<br />
super-charged and<br />
super-disappointing earthly existence?<br />
<br />
Or the ones left behind.<br />
<br />
Like us.<br />
<br />
Scattering our wonderings to the wind.<br />
<br />
Answer back some time won't you?<br />
<br />
Trump logic.<br />
Please?!!<br />
<br />
Give an irrational but truthful reason to continue!<br />
Bless us with an unjustifiable, unreasonable basis for drawing in breath.<br />
<br />
Beat my brain down from it's arrogant, desperate, frightened, weary, wounded sanity,<br />
and let me live,<br />
not in ignorant bliss,<br />
but astounded enlightenment. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-35807489810262265982013-02-05T22:19:00.002+10:302013-02-05T22:19:55.383+10:30anorgasmia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My life with church has always been
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
a fruitless, frustrating, wearying
carousel</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of weekly sex with no orgasm.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's so exhausting and unfulfilling.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't wanna go!!!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The technicians stand around the bed
making suggestions,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the number of participants,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the verbal content,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the soundtrack,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
tweaking these things will increase
arousal,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and on our system,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
guaranteed,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
you'll be screaming with joy
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
on a rostered basis.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Well it never happens,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and the appointments,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and the discussions,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and the arguments</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
just make it worse and worse and worse.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Heightening the expectation that is
already disappointed,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
calling for a something that is never
going to
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
come.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Why torture me so?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It blinds me to the other values of
this bride of Christ,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the other reasons to pursue her.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If satisfying sex is on offer,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but never delivered,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
just like any horny teenager,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'll dump her and move on,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
seeking nourishment for my deep</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
social</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
psychological</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
physical</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
emotional</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
spiritual need</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
somewhere else.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But we're engaged,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
not married yet.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The consummation awaits,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the glorious union with you.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The truly orgasmic, exciting climax</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
when all creation will find it's
fulfillment.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So stop dangling this dangerous fruit.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Like all long engagements,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
this situation has its pitfalls,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
not least the seeming stretching
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of every second into an hour,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
every hour into a year,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
enduring the not-so-great while waiting
for the best thing ever.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So when we launch into the same routine
again,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
next time,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
turn the lights down low,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
turn the music up,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but never get to the point where the
heaving and sighing gets anywhere,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
help me to remember that it's a lie to
expect anything more.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are other reasons to love her
anyway,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and to continue to hold at arms length</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
those doctors who promise easy
solutions,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
but no real answers. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-35173967846076652442013-01-31T13:24:00.000+10:302013-01-31T13:24:23.923+10:30being kathy bates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So apparently I think I'm Kathy Bates in <i>Misery...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
That anyone trapped in conversation with me is just wondering,<br />
"when is she gonna break my legs so she can keep me here?"<br />
"how can I escape?!!"<br />
Hoping that I'm not going to further display my mental disturbance<br />
by drugging them,<br />
tricking them into something resembling friendship.<br />
<br />
Cheerful isn't it,<br />
the assumption I'm blackmailing, manipulating everyone.<br />
That they're being polite at first, because they have to,<br />
but soon would rather be anywhere but in the room with me.<br />
<br />
I think like that about you sometimes too.<br />
That you're just loving me out of obligation,<br />
and soon you're gonna leave me too.<br />
<br />
In this room,<br />
alone,<br />
forever,<br />
where I rightfully belong,<br />
with only the emptiness and waste to talk to,<br />
a fitting punishment for whatever it is my mind thinks I've done.<br />
<br />
Why do I think I'm Kathy?<br />
<br />
Why?!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-71573612225329133182013-01-14T14:00:00.001+10:302013-01-14T14:00:28.551+10:30the parable of the lost sheep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not <i>lost</i>.<br />
I just <i>stopped</i>.<br />
<br />
Srsly, there's no point coming back for me,<br />
you'll just put the other sheep in danger.<br />
<br />
Seriously! GO AWAY!!<br />
<br />
I'm not worth it.<br />
<br />
I'll just stay here, and eat this grass,<br />
til it's gone.<br />
<br />
And then I guess I'll lie down.<br />
<br />
And then I'll die.<br />
<br />
No probs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
You're making me feel guilty staring at me like that.<br />
<br />
Seriously! GO AWAY!!<br />
<br />
It's pointless trying to pick me up.<br />
I don't even know what you're doing here.<br />
What?!<br />
Do you <i>want</i> some sort of stand-off?<br />
See who'll flinch first?<br />
<br />
Well you know, and I know, that this is stupid.<br />
I'm just one sheep.<br />
<br />
BUGGER OFF!!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-74747747241396009562013-01-08T23:16:00.000+10:302013-01-08T23:16:39.359+10:30the fire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Acrid scent,<br />
not the promise of well cooked food,<br />
but of animals screaming,<br />
running,<br />
Firies fighting, straining,<br />
helicopters hovering, covering<br />
hot fields with precious water.<br />
<br />
It wafts on the breeze,<br />
this reminder of death and destruction,<br />
simply an annoying tickle to the nose,<br />
when spending your day on other things,<br />
like a fly that won't stay swatted,<br />
or a neighbour that can't be avoided.<br />
<br />
The smell is not the worst of it.<br />
<br />
Perhaps that's why,<br />
even though it lingers,<br />
permeates hair, clothes and rooms,<br />
acts in every way possible to scream it's deadly news,<br />
<br />
we can still ignore,<br />
despise,<br />
revile it.<br />
<br />
Hah!<br />
<br />
I'm only covered in smoke,<br />
the fire holds no real fear for me!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-86587833541462549702012-12-29T22:52:00.000+10:302012-12-29T22:52:26.227+10:30have I not loved<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've flown there and back in one exhausting day<br />
to weep, forlorn at a graveside.<br />
<br />
I've waked and waited through watches of the night<br />
willing sickness to turn.<br />
<br />
I've prayed desperately and faithfully,<br />
daily and yearly<br />
that hearts will turn and be made flesh.<br />
<br />
I've gasped in ecstatic joy,<br />
cried in wrenching sadness,<br />
laughed with humble mirth.<br />
<br />
I've smiled at stories because I know someone I love will love them,<br />
stored them up in memory to share,<br />
to brighten or stimulate an Other's day.<br />
<br />
Gathered tidbits to share,<br />
made favourite dishes,<br />
slaved in the preparation of special gifts.<br />
<br />
I've waited patiently,<br />
defended jealously,<br />
watched enviously,<br />
thirsted endlessly,<br />
<br />
have I not loved?!!<br />
<br />
Just because I haven't rolled roughly on rumpled sheets,<br />
or promised fealty in public celebration.<br />
<br />
Just because you see no biological evidence<br />
and cannot see into the deeps of my heart.<br />
<br />
Though I have not <i>felt</i> the pleasure of it,<br />
I know what delight there must be,<br />
in walking arm in arm,<br />
in warm sun,<br />
on fair path.<br />
<br />
Though I have not <i>tasted</i> the pleasure of a kiss,<br />
my minds mouth can conjure it,<br />
<i>and</i> sup the bitterness of its ending.<br />
<br />
I <i>have</i> loved.<br />
I <i>do</i> love.<br />
I <i>will</i> love.<br />
<br />
You may never see it,<br />
celebrate it,<br />
give me gifts.<br />
<br />
You may never organise a party<br />
simply to congratulate me on it's length.<br />
<br />
You may never note or mark it at all,<br />
<br />
but have I not loved?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-25265936942204254112012-12-21T15:00:00.001+10:302012-12-21T15:00:24.940+10:30Advent liturgy.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Soon it is Christmas,<br />
let all warring cease.<br />
Let us join hands over the discount table.<br />
<br />
Lord, we ask that you will bless these gifts<br />
of pav and wine,<br />
turkey, ham and pudding,<br />
and that we who receive them may be truly blessed.<br />
<br />
You have slashed the prices for us Lord.<br />
Verily, we thank you.<br />
You have cut the rates for us Lord.<br />
Verily, we thank you.<br />
<br />
As we celebrate this precious and solemn ceremony,<br />
and imbibe the blessings of your presence with us,<br />
we ask for your perfect peace,<br />
and a transcendent glimpse of your powerful holiness.<br />
<br />
Amen. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-24780273365886917182012-12-14T12:54:00.000+10:302012-12-14T12:54:26.369+10:30three gifts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Born a king on Bethlehem's plain,<br />
war torn, then as now,<br />
the birth of a prince of peace more remarkable than<br />
pigs flying over a kosher barbeque.<br />
<br />
Incense given,<br />
heralding the presence of deity,<br />
as does the scent of blood, sweat and tears,<br />
miraculous proclamation of fleshly God.<br />
<br />
Myrrh scents the house,<br />
perfume of a grave and a birthplace,<br />
new life, newly lived, snatched again.<br />
First breath repeated as first fruits.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-12609405930536934712012-12-06T22:01:00.001+10:302012-12-06T22:15:00.358+10:30sub-texts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Real text (to my sister): <br />
<br />
A bit more of my broken tooth just broke off...! I feel this is the sort of thing one needs to share with someone. Guess what?! This is YOUR lucky day!! :-) It didn't hurt... Nor does it look rotten. Also, it means there's less of a hole to get food in/dig food out of with tongue. Mmm. So anyway... Yeah. There u go :-)<br />
<br />
Subtext: <br />
<br />
I am all alone, at night, with a broken tooth. <br />
<br />
Real text (from NRMA): <br />
<br />
Don't forget to renew your Roadside Assistance before 29/11/2012. If you haven't already paid, call 1300 300 381 or visit mynrma.com.au/renewal.<br />
<br />
Subtext: <br />
<br />
When you next drive out to the country, y'know, to visit the family or whatevs, YOU COULD DIE!! So pay us now. <br />
<br />
Real text (to my friend): <br />
<br />
Honest, today's the day I'll write down ur apartment number so I know which bell to ring!!<br />
<br />
Subtext: <br />
<br />
I am incompetent at life. LIFE!! How did that end up being a pass/fail?! You've lived here for ages, I've visited you multiple times, yet, I stand on your step, wondering if I can somehow cheat my way into the right apartment and save my shreds of dignity. Dammit. I cannot!!<br />
<br />
Real prayer (to God): <br />
<br />
Please be with &$#€¥. Help her to get through this awful day, and comfort her, and help her to keep trusting in you despite the ickiness of it all. Please hold her tight!!<br />
<br />
Subtext: <br />
<br />
Gaaaaaaaahhhh!!! If you don't sort this, I have no idea what I'm going to do. And yes, this is one of those days where I feel like a total idiot for even talking to you. Please help?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-37311373029480156662012-10-30T14:46:00.001+10:302012-10-30T14:46:02.661+10:30even todayDepression's worst on sunny days, <br />
when Spring is in the air. <br />
<br />
More justified, more rational<br />
when black clouds gather Winter storms<br />
or Fridays fall alone, <br />
with tissues, pie and bed. <br />
<br />
On glory days, with spirits high, <br />
the laughter of friends ringing in azure sky, <br />
the gutting fall to darkened deeps, <br />
emptiness, <br />
harsh inner voices and <br />
distress<br />
<br />
seems more potent, <br />
draining, <br />
hopeless. <br />
<br />
Even on this day<br />
I cannot be content. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-33633437237009578532012-10-29T10:57:00.000+10:302012-10-29T10:57:53.620+10:30Ellie's birthday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Saturday, my darling niece Ellie turned two, and I performed as the Heartbeat Poet for the first time. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I turned these three poems into a cycle - <a href="http://heartbeatpoecy.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/mothers-day.html" target="_blank">Mother's Day</a>, <a href="http://heartbeatpoecy.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/spiritual-surgery.html" target="_blank">Spiritual Surgery</a> and <a href="http://heartbeatpoecy.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/for-paris.html" target="_blank">For Paris</a> and then finished it off with <a href="http://heartbeatpoecy.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/sunset.html" target="_blank">Sunset</a> and <a href="http://heartbeatpoecy.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/resurrection-storm.html" target="_blank">After The Storm</a> (the first two stanzas of this post, resurrection storm).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was a great experience to speak the poems, and experiment with the visual and aural aspects of performance as well. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Check out the outfit!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrj8SVkDQn4hknxR5-Qf99ZEylZFvfyRm7XqQox6nxhQgucIhE96u4K8k_9YwYKV8hKe9-UtjuxE8X3mc-tUpvyYWKPkbBNeZsX3eoQiGVyXQoUx_hO_Du2YwTpWU_LBiDc-K1owbQikhc/s1600/389567_10151117902634141_1063453469_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrj8SVkDQn4hknxR5-Qf99ZEylZFvfyRm7XqQox6nxhQgucIhE96u4K8k_9YwYKV8hKe9-UtjuxE8X3mc-tUpvyYWKPkbBNeZsX3eoQiGVyXQoUx_hO_Du2YwTpWU_LBiDc-K1owbQikhc/s1600/389567_10151117902634141_1063453469_a.jpg" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638311327233421492.post-78882560214768425052012-10-19T19:28:00.002+10:302012-10-19T19:28:22.535+10:30mistress of the pig market/heartbeat live<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hey y'all,<br />
<br />
soooooo, my fabulous friend Ali Maegraith is launching her folky/rocky album 'Mistress of the Pig Market' at the moment, aaaaaaaand, on Saturday 27th October, 7pm at Marrickville Road Church,<b> I'll be performing</b> a set of my poetry at her request.<br />
<br />
It's the corner of Petersham and Marrickville Roads, $15/adult, $20 with CD - the album is great!!<br />
<br />
So, come check out my embarrassing debut styled as a 'performance poet' and enjoy some cool tunes in the beautiful Marrickville Anglican Church.<br />
<br />
xo</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07718789584926278773noreply@blogger.com2