Under a night sky
the embers glowed
and in the light of her smile
he kissed the stars
anchored in the shell of her ears.
a dawn bird
In response to Patrick Jennings Pic and a Word Challenge #181 Night
Category: poetry
The morning after …
I saw you at the Sunday sesh
I knew I wasn’t wrong
The curve of your head
hair cropped short,
seamless,
with no start or end
the way you pulled the wallet free
from your back pocket
your sleeves rolled up uneven
so infuriatingly you
the aching familiarity
you glanced over,
while laughing with mates
our eyes met, unexpectedly
it subdued you for a moment
before you threw a careless grin
over your shoulder,
and I caught it
This morning, I wish I hadn’t
Now look at the pickle we’re in!
The (Dis)engagement
He thought …
How sad is a kite
that cannot fly, when not connected
not part of two that dance in the breeze with it
no winds to lift it skywards
it is a piece of scrap that trails the ground
it brings no joy, no laughter, just frustration
where is the chase in this monstrosity, he fumed
so he stood at the shore
and alone,
tried to breathe life into it.
a dawn bird
The take-off …
It was a few years later
she was taking an early morning flight she could not avoid
when he walked up to her
and picked up the thread again
He was now divorced
the marriage had ended long before he met her
“But you already knew that”, he grinned
“we just never talked”, he felt the need to explain
She remained silent, listening,
she was good at this, too
seated she looked up at him
time had not diminished how she felt
everything about him was still familiar
the casual droop of shoulders
with a backpack slung low
the Pilbara sun had tanned his arms in winter
the high viz clothing accentuating this
He picked up her bag
jerked his head toward the airport cafe
“Let’s get some coffee”, he invited
“with any luck, the flight’s delayed”
he didn’t have to say any more
they both knew, it was on again.
a dawn bird
Thief!
I had been warned of the stealth
but I was unaware
the footfall would be silent
with an indelible footprint
that it would take up space
I had long forgotten was there
it would blaze a trail
brighter than a shooting star
and land within with the softest glow
that dazzled me
and when it left
it would empty that space
and take my light, too
who would have known
I, who am strong,
I, who was warned
I, who felt I had nothing to give, but did
I am not a victim,
far from it
what was taken, came from the best place
I now know I had a hidden treasure trove
that was invisible to me
when that thief, called love
crossed my path.
a dawn bird
Runway Love (Sequel to Serendipity)
It wasn’t long before they met again
On the bridge that spanned to nowhere
Talking, side by side, as always
until the sun slipped into a new day elsewhere
But this dusk was different,
he cut through the banality of small talk with silence
She stayed with him for a while
Sensing his dilemma, she gave him the space he needed
“We don’t need to take this any further”, she said
His response was not unexpected
Yet it startled her
There was a sincerity in his words,
That spoke to the yearning between two,
As old as time itself
“We can’t be together,
I also know, you know this too”
The words were rehearsed
but were jettisoned out like new
They were both silent in the wake that followed
Until he spoke again
“I dream of your skin when I sleep”,
he paused to let the words sink in
“and when awake”
His eyes softened when he smiled
“Well, it had to be said”
As he turned her around to face him
She submitted to the yield
He bared the hidden skin,
Unlike her face and limbs, it was pale
and like the moon,
luminous in the darkest hour
At the contour of her shoulder
in the space between bone and breast
He inhaled the earth of her
Savouring every breath,
he lingered longer
satiating the gnawing skin hunger they felt
from the moment they met,
or maybe longer.
a dawn bird
Serendipity
The flight was delayed
the airport packed
the only empty seat was beside me
He lowered his tall frame
he leaned close and smiled
soon we chat like familiar strangers
We had seen each other before
but never talked, it seemed the thing to do
“Married, divorced?”, he asks casually
I tell him, and was surprised to hear my voice say,
“You?”
“Happily”, he tells me,
with a laugh that follows easily, too easily,
“married, that is”, he adds and grins
“Nice!”, I tell him and flinch at my insincerity
he is sensitive, my disappointment, his cue
the silence that followed was long
or maybe my memory fails me,
it could have been brief
there’s a lot I’ve forgotten
this I do remember
as the flight took off
the plane lights went dim
we settled in, with a lot on our minds
or perhaps it was just one thing
when we disembark
he asked, “where are you staying?”
I tell him.
a dawn bird
The Rain Watcher
Far from home,
the air was warm
the clouds ominous
from within, I looked out
as rivulets poured
into a stream of consciousness
I ignored the thunder
the flash of light
I ignored shelter, mindfully
I sniffed the petrichor
wafting from the ground
it anchored me
at one with earth
I watched the rain
I’m not sure for how long
it may have been a minute
or an hour,
when the rain faded silently into memory
and that flash of light, now a beam
shone brightly
on the book of life
titled Carpe diem
a dawn bird
The Storm
There was a slow brew on the horizon
the kind I’d seen before
distant, yet, palpable
as if within
It drifted in
I know not from where
it found a place in my heart
I didn’t know was there
And as the sky rumbled
It warmed, it ignited
It flashed the brightest light
It set my world alight
And then
it was dark again
a dawn bird
I am with you
Each night,
in the quiet
I anxiously watch
the minutes tick by
I know the hours will meld
into a new day
like they did yesterday
Outside the wind creeps
along the eaves
Imagination plays
while I try to sleep
I toss and turn
listen and wait
make sense of sounds
shadows and shapes
I say a short prayer
I take a deep breath
No longer afraid
In the stillness of my being
I find a shared space
where I am safe
so I reiterate
I am safe.
I am safe
I am safe, with Thee.
a dawn bird
The Perfect Storm
On a silken sheet I lay
salty and abandoned,
as the undulating waves stilled
there was hardly a ripple that predicted
the perfect storm,
was yet to come.
a dawn bird
The Escape
It’s morning, yes morning
Dawn hasn’t arrived yet
looking at my day, it won’t be
The coffee is bitter
The work piled up
the sky as grey as I feel
in a hotel room
with alone for company
unlike me,
I made time in my schedule
to count my sorrows
but I’m bad at maths
so I’ll make this prison a perch
free the caged bird within me
and think about the tomorrows instead
next week I’ll travel north
over land and sea
to a place where I’ll dress in anonymity
I’ll be invisible,
A transient
I’ll wander aimlessly
And photo bomb tourists and backpackers,
Unintentionally, of course
I’ll feel the warmth of sun
I’ll have breakfast in bed
I’ll feel vibrant as the frangipani perfume
that wafts in from outside the door
I’ll watch the river mullet dance on water
I’ll watch the white heron catch fish
I’ll watch the sun seep into the sky
Twice, yes, twice each day
And know,
I was wrong today
Dawn always arrives.
a dawn bird
Love is …
Love is bold
Love is vulnerable
Love is indomitable
Love is yearning
Love is satiety
Love is one plus
Love is … us
a dawn bird
Just swipe right
I am a mother
Always will be, unconditionally
Barefooted, I am not tall
And I am no longer as slim as I used to be
I am ordinary
with a generous, forgiving heart
I am softly spoken
You will have to lean in
To hear me in a crowd
I am shy but adventurous
You’ll find my footprints, often a single set,
along the ruffled coast from north to south
You’ll never hear me cry
because there are parts to me, off limits
I believe pain cuts deep
And the scar is visible in what we say and do
So I have a good listening ear and soothing hand
when you need someone to comfort you
My skin is nut brown
and it may surprise you, I tan easily in summer,
and where untouched by sun
I glow in the dark
Where touched, too
I can be abrupt, impatient, untidy
I suffer from road rage in the city
on country roads, I dream
I am organised, thoughtful, kind
I am independent, fiercely independent
You’ll have to put up with that
I love books
If you’re rich, I’ll pass on the diamonds
just buy me a library
or a publishing firm, too, will do
I love conversations
When together, I expect the mobile to be out of reach
I believe equality is not ‘sameness’
Equality acknowledges differences
And we work towards a level playing field for all
My chosen lifestyle is not conventional
and faith guides my path each day
I choose not to live with people’s pain
it’s not that I don’t care
but through the lens of their reality
I seek the preciousness of life given to me
I live to experience life, not live it day by day
I am busy, way too busy
it has made me lazy
I no longer look for love
But if you do
find me.
a dawn bird
Pink, the colour of hope
Today I stepped into a rabbit hole
falling head first with a silent scream
I landed in a world of chaos
and waded through a pool of hate
as I searched for meaning
in the mire of arrogant righteousness
in the darkest recess of a garden
where nothing else grew
I found a pink rosebud
so I offer this symbol of hope
in solidarity, from me to you.
Dedicated to our neighbours in New Zealand who have lost loved ones and their innocence. May you live in peace and safety again.
a dawn bird
A Shared Space 
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