Meanderings 2017-2020

8 April 2017

One love. There's no other way.

10 April 2017

INSOLENCE

The praise of winter's wispy ways

Does hark of hardship, hooch and haze

As Sol salutes us out in space

The Earth rebirths while keeping pace

The urchin's worth discerned from murk

She mooches fruitlessly away

In nought but turquoise chains and skirts

Still yet to see wear turn to waste

As liquor's sipped from cracklin' lips

Some swill remains in bottles drained

A mix of sadness, smoke and spit

Her pretty pout does mask the pain

And if she now should bask in rain

And wait for Sol's renewing rays

She might unlock her spirit's cage

To find the world did feel the same!

She spirals deeper into rage

"They lied!" She cries, "they are not saved!"

A mask on every monkey's face

Their honour, humour, hubris fake

She ponders by an icy lake

The world has wrecked us, wreaked our fate

So shiv the mirror, watch it break!

She whispers soft in winter's wake

She is now warmer than the blaze

Her face forlorn, her mask erased

A storm the one thing left to wage

To warn the world of reckless craze

The ripple now becomes the wave

There is so little left to say

In death's embrace be now unswayed

May worship nurture nature's grace

11 July 2018

PAX

Beluga, beluga

What went through ya when ya ate caviar with Putin?

Buffalo, buffalo

Never make a cameo at a rodeo

Did ya taste the stew they're serving on the patio?

Ballistics, figures of linguistics

Sure I dance through the sky, lifted

Wouldn't we all die for a glimpse of a good death

If it existed?

7 September 2018

BOOR’S LAMENT

The bus pulled up at Woolworths

My canvas bags in hand

I clambered down, repressed a frown

And went to buy some land

I work for this here easement

It never lets me leave

I cleave the soil, believe in toil

And pilfer, peace by peace

The ledgers of the merchants

Inform of my grim dance

I am the dead the dark found lurking

Hunger my romance

Heaven wouldn’t have me back

Hell said nothing’s vacant

So I returned to haunt the earth

Lurch, and lay the pavement

I brush my rusted cufflinks

The stars have formed a stack

Life is a dream I interrupted for a midnight snack

17 April 2019

I think about my youth and I remember so much joy. I have to thank my parents and my family so much for that. When I was really young, the feeling in the world for me was that joy was everywhere.

16 July 2019

Space heater? I thought that was a ray gun!

24 July 2019

I love my girl Sam, I love my Mum and Dad and my sister Britt, i love my dog Maggie, I love my grandparents, my aunts and uncles (blood or otherwise), I love my cousins, I love my family far and wide, I love my friends, I love my acquaintances, I love everyone here on Facebook, I love everyone in the world (even the people doing wrong, that is between them and whatever they answer to), I love the trees (Earth's insulation system), I love the rivers, I love the mountains and the valleys, I love the plains and the deserts, I love the bogs and the impasses, I love the lakes and the seas and the oceans, I love the fires of the volcano and the winds of the tornado and the fire and the wind of the bushfires, I love the joy and success, I love the pain and suffering, I love the love, I love the hate, I love the music, I love the relentless violence and oppression, I love the endless assault, I love the war of attrition, I love the struggle for grace over power, I love capitalism, I love communism, I love extremism, I love environmentalism, I love patience, I love mental patients, I love purity, I love sanctity, I love horror, I love depravity, I love gravity, I love magnetism, I love the nucleus, I love the bomb, I love the bullet, I love the blade, i love the being, I love you, and I hope we all get through this together. (edited for vanity's sake...I love myself xo)

8 August 2019

Whatever follows cannot be stilled

The sea makes rain for rivers filled

And salt retained bucks not her build

She is not drained even if spilled

1 December 2019

Whatever burns cannot be bought

The sea makes rain for rivers sought

And salt retained's a grim retort

The spit from lips of sentience caught

1 December 2019

Once there was this builder and he was looking everywhere for a place to build his vision, a massive tower. He thought he had found a place so he started trying to cut some lumber for the foundations. But he forgot to use the safety switch, and as the diamond edged blade sliced the hard, splintery log he accidentally blinded himself!! Sharp pieces of the serrated edge broke off and embedded themselves inches from the builder's brain. When he got to the hospital (he couldn't drive or find his phone and he didn't want to shout and cause a fuss so he had to feel his way there along the footpath) he spoke with the doctor who said there wasn't much he could do as the injury was extensive and had happened four hours earlier. So he popped the builder down on a spare gurney and held him as he wept. They were afraid the builder would never be a builder again. The doctor suddenly had a great idea. There was a hospital development being planned on an empty block across the road. He could find work for the builder as a consultant, surely. It might not be a tower, but the builder would contribute to saving sick kids by working on the development. The doctor gently guided the builder out the door and gestured across the road and said: "Look, my friend...now that's a site for Saw Eyes."

24 December 2019

It

1 January 2020

Fireworks sound like a firefight. There is no peace in my heart unless I say this: something must come before self-preservation if we are to save ourselves. Put yourself out there and please spread these words: we must all come together under one roof, with one glass of water and one meal provided by one darling mother. We must share our shelter. We must share our food and water. Bring us all together please. Happy New Year.

7 January 2020

Just want to say big love to all the people in this country, in this world, we are all going through big things right now but the best way to get through it is together. So just know you have my love and support, always here for you beautiful people here on Facebook, love your work and stay strong. We aren't going to let the forces of hate and separation keep us apart. One Earth, one Love, one Life.

22 January 2020

The hierophant spoke highly of me

Sycophants went psycho on me

Elephants did elevate their trunks

And trumpet songs of thunder

Passing 'round the pepperoni

Dishes done, the couch is lonely

Brothers born for life can know

This family ain't torn asu

-Saint 

21 January 2020

Don't let me catch you unaware

The light is dumb to raid the lair

So I've sent salmon for the bear

When lunch is done, love is still there ❤

28 January 2020

Don't let you stress the petty stuff

The dark is bold to wear the rough

So I've sent diamonds off the cuff

When time is lost, love is enough ❤

30 January 2020

If it's all about the coal

How can she be whole?

If she's burnt for the shoal

The fish holds what role?

5 February 2020

"You surely are misled to rouse"

The big man said unto the mouse

The mouse spoke back, his whiskers doused:

"One love, one meal, one world, one house"

5 February 2020

The bird burst forth from the tree

She beholded what was scolded, then she said to me:

"Why should I fly if God has forsaken me?"

I said, "Never forget you must live relentlessly"

I got picked up on this one - apparently 'beholded' is not a word...

5 February 2020

A little turtle sat next to a myrtle tree

And what he learnt took almost eternity

And when he left he felt sad like always

But this time his doubt had gone away

14 February 2020

NO CHALICE

Dement the shallow chattels

The rent due months ago

Cement the new age battles

As rightly plundered so

Earth Mother hides her sorrows

She quietly holds on hope

The dog rat shyly borrows

For one more shot of dope

The two cross paths at twilight

The son sinks at sunrise

The daughter flaunts her highlights

In front of fluttered eyes

The rest of us are restless

Impatient with the dawn

The darkness tries to best us

But we're still holding on

The queen ant stays nonchalant

She seeks greater balance

Her future goes on and on

Amidst the night hawk's talons

14 February 2020

The anarchists have the most faith in humanity

Even if the plenary would disarm them uncannily

I approach the individual warily

But open my arms and embrace without vanity

20 March 2020

The bird came down from the tree

She gave what she saved, then she said to me

"Why should I fly if God has grounded me?"

I said "Never forget you must live resoundingly"

20 March 2020

So life went on, dull as it does

In ochre, ashes and chaos

I went to work, out in the dust

Through ancient brooks a glimmer struck

Reminded me of Dreamtime songs

Amidst the burnt and unturned stones

A serpent slides on, one with us

Shepherding the old and young

The nectar of that billabong

I woke up one night drenched in sweat

A bullet's eye was my vision

I plunged into my brother's chest

At least I held him as he died

I told him this won't be the end

There is a place for all of us

With milky tea and sweetened bread

He coughed and gasped and whispered last

I closed his eyes and held his head

At least I held him as he died

I told him this won't be the end

Some nerve got the praetor

Who front like the Creator

My brother went down to the station

Signed a paper, and said "see you later"

Since war was his destiny

I never told him what he meant to me

But the mystery owes no debt to me

In death we are as close as we're meant to be

The Rainbow Serpent served at Gallipoli

28 March 2020

Adam said to Eve, "I'll work hard to please ya"

Lucifer said, "I gotta love ya and leave ya"

God stubbed His toe and the world had a seizure

Lo, foresight makes a poor anesthesia

28 March 2020

St Peter thumbed the rolls and grumbled

The young poet ran up the steps and stumbled

The gates did rattle and the thunder rumbled

They both reached for the same pen and fumbled

16 April 2020

STILL NOT A FISH

So the whale said to the wave:

"You cannot sell what you don't save"

The salty shore was sure to split

The shyster from the sage

A storm came 'round

And washed them down

And both did run aground

With stinging eyes, the whale did cry:

"I can't rely on deals run dry"

As waves lapped palely at his tail

The beast released a sigh

So folks recalled a narrative

And held his flipper by the tip

And ushered him beyond the drip

To freedom from the winsome whip

A hopeless wish

That all such fish

Might call it what it is

20 April 2020

Thank the Romans for romance

And bellum romanum

If your socks don't dance

Darn 'em!

29 May 2020

The harlequin danced a jig on the badge

Of liberty trashed, a cop did cadge

A flower, and tossed it into the void

Rest In Power George Floyd

2 June 2020

Heel the tide (heal the tied)

Beat the heart

Reave the dried

Wheel the cart

2 June 2020

If it's not in your benefit

Who absorbs the deficit?

Moon is black, the sunrise plum

Karma comes sooner for some

2 June 2020

Be the spear that pierced Xerxes' cheek

Eat the beef Nero spilled on the street

Drink the whine of the sirens you hear

When we all die, flow to the same weir

3 June 2020

You can't have it slick

The bricks are too cold

Build a temple with a wick

And let it burn bold

11 June 2020

28 BARS

13 June 2020

Yesterday marked 3 years since my Pop, John Miles, passed away in the presence of his lifelong love Nanna and those of his family that managed to make it there at short notice.

The morning that day started like any other. It was a Monday and I went to work. Then I got a call from Mum and Dad saying Pop was going to hospital and it wasn't looking good. My Director at the time agreed to let me leave work, even though I told her it would probably be okay. Marg Byrne, I still appreciate you for that.

I got to the Redland Bay Hospital by 10 or 11 in the morning and we all visited Pop. There wasn't much to determine if he was going to be staying longer or leaving. We sat in the room with Pop for a couple of hours, unsure. Dad and I went to the cafe for lunch around 2. Then we got a call from Mum.

We came back and everyone was standing around the bed. Pop's breathing had grown hoarse and irregular. The next bit is hard to remember, but there was a moment where we all knew, I think, that he had passed. The nurse was there, not much she could do. It wasn't like the movies where the ECG flatlines. He just faded away, his breaths growing further and further apart. It hurt, but I am grateful that I could be there. He had battled Parkinson's Disease among other ailments for many years, but he was still with us to the end, supporting us from a corporal prison, even though his mouth could hardly expel the wisdom his mind held.

I wrote this poem before we lost Pop. I always knew it was about him but I never really got a chance to read it to him or see what he thought about it. I think he probably would've thought it was all a bit too much about him. He was a man of strong values and direct words.

During his career, he administrated the hospital at Southport. There came a time when the government changed and he was given the choice between asking a colleague and fellow hospital administrator to resign, or resigning himself. He took the fall.

I guess I wrote this poem because I felt that he was wronged. I don't know if he would really see it that way. I think this poem ended up on the funeral papers but I never read it out loud. Whether or not the words are really how Pop would describe himself, they capture the hero I saw in him. (The title is the motto of the State government of Queensland, and means 'bold but faithful'.)

Love you Pop.

AUDAX AT FIDELIS

It's not a curse or spiteful chain

That binds me to this humble spot

Incongruous with flight or pain

I am the man that fate forgot

A fool runs shepherd on some fools

Secure between a fold and crook

No coward sharper than his tools

The bark is bolder than the book

Of light and charming elements

I worshipped earth and sea and sky

These clouds my growing testament

I shall be with them when I die

In my last days, I need my sleep

So see me sweet in glad repose

To vault this world a mighty leap

I lived the life a champion chose

17 July 2020

DEFENCE MECHANISM

Hack the passage of time

Deny it's all a dream

Make the tide turn on a dime

It's all about self-esteem

Stand up for the down-trodden

Cower the bullies too

Work until your brow is sodden

It all falls down on you

27 July 2020

FIRST STEPS

The willow weak, the frond a-frayed

Dont dwell on gremlins, gentiles bade

A plague on all your houses made

First crucify, if not, first aid

The bough did break and angels prayed

The babe would fall, a sojourn brave

And strike the soil with footsteps weighed

A flightless bird, a grace unpaid

17 August 2020

FOR MAGGIE

Maggie, rest your shaggy head

There's fields to run where you now tread

Zoom, sweet girl, I'm running too

The leash is loosed, the sky is blue

The time will come - we'll visit you

One by one, remade anew

We'll go for walks in sunset's cradle

And eat from the same table

22 September 2020

SEEKER

He ran until his feet were raw

His stomach plump, his liver swelled

He couldn't unsee what he saw

His life monument felled

The solitary sleuth seeks on

The night, the light rescinds

Ride the chthonic zephyr long

Sail fair on devil winds

1 October 2020

UNTITLED

The signs can be seen

But aren't always heeded

The rhymes have a scheme

But aren't always needed

You deserve providence

Respect and purpose

You might not get it

But believe it's worth believing that we might all love our neighbours one day ❤

7 October 2020

The wily GOAT was a wild one

Fished so much they call him the net prophet

Then one day slipped to the horizon

Now he sheds light like a power socket

27 November 2020

If my heart were a house

There would be no rooms

There would be no roof

And at high noon

There would be no shadow

Let light dance along time's arrow

So that we may enjoy the view

If my heart were a house

I'd build it for you 😘

26 December 2020

GREAT DISTRIBUTOR

27 December 2020

BOXING WITH JESUS

Thanks for having a look! I hope you enjoyed my meanderings. It's been quite a journey and it's not over yet. I just want to say thanks to all of my family and friends for your support over the years. Plenty more to come...