Between sky and sea
you’ll find me
flying independently
a symbol of individuality
in a flock I am the one
head up
glassy-eyed, with clarity
to no one I belong
no one belongs to me
but, in the sky,
I am one with all I see
exotic bird, I am not
yet,
some see beauty
in my simplicity.
a dawn bird
A few months ago I spent a week in Bali. My first visit in forty years. I went overseas filled with trepidation. The long walks at airports being one of them.
Yes, there were changes but there were many other things that remained unchanged. I loved how the Balinese people start their day with a gesture of prayer. They have little offerings made of leaves, flowers and incense as a symbol of gratitude at their front door or business. A lovely reminder how to start one’s day. For me, gratitude is a gesture of oneness, with whomever one acknowledges that to be, that knits yesterday, today and tomorrow, seamlessly.
I had some specific things I wanted to do while I was in Bali and the usual tourist activities were definitely not the plan. The thing I wanted to do most was to visit a healer. My driver took me deep into the heart of Ubud. Even he was unfamiliar with the roads and had to stop and ask for directions several times in small villages. We reached our destination. I sat at his feet. The man, a stranger to me. His first words to me were not to share anything about myself with him. He held my feet and looked deep into my eyes for several minutes. The intimacy of the moment took me by surprise. He then proceeded to tell me a few things about my life where I had come from and where he thought I would be in the future. Sceptical, I took it all in with a big pinch of salt.
Returning to the hotel I found myself in a different space. I wanted to wander around the beautiful gardens and did this effortlessly. I saw things I wanted to see. I found peace in unexpected places and surprisingly, within me, too. I did not touch my laptop for a week and I cannot remember the last time I did that. But my camera which has been out of reach suddenly found me again. Was it the healer’s words? I’ll never know. I felt I was back, with stories to tell.
While walking next day I noticed this wall. I loved how the soft moss nestled along the lines gave an illusion of ‘mending’, these big rocks into a wall. It made me stop and examine nature’s art more closely. There was something analogous about this but what, was elusive.
That night the urge to write again was strong, almost visceral. The wall, physical and metaphorical, reminded me of the Japanese art of kintsugi where broken pottery is repaired with gold; the transformation a new creation, made more beautiful, than the original. Not because of the gold, but because the eye is drawn to what was once imperfect and travels along each join, where the narrative is told.
I wrote this in response
she ran her fingers through the pieces
sifted the broken
the chosen ones,
she placed in sequence
piece by piece
glued with gold
the bowl, emerged
whole
unbroken
by a dawn bird
There was a space within me that I wanted to share, when I started this blog some years ago. It is a space that is sacred to me. It is who I am. As vulnerable as it makes me, it is my authentic self.
May the new year bring you good health and happiness. May you seek to find that sacred place where imperfection is art and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you do, you may find this in people too.
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Tuesday – Soft
Middleton Beach, Albany, Western Australia
Further from shore
no compass, no stars
adrift
longer than forever, and more
each day, each night
the gaslight
shimmered, so soft
it glowed
Into the arms of Mother Sea
each wave caressed me
where Truth was brighter
as only a new day can be.
by a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Wednesday – Question
I lay in bed listening to the ocean roar
the winds screeched above me
the trees bent over, leaves stripped
I was gripped in winter’s full fury
I asked no one beside me,
why is the world an unfriendly place?
when one is alone
this is the message shared with me
The world may be an unfriendly place
but the Universe is a friend
she watches, listens and waits
nothing is given too early
nothing held back, too late
So I rugged up against the winds
and stepped into that enchanted place of communion
I told the Universe where I was
and where I never thought I’d be again
I felt her warm presence walk beside me
mother-like, she said
Each morning, head out to the unknown
with just one certainty
seek what you are looking for
and you will find, what you seek
Remember, there is poetry in Nature
nothing seems what it seems to be
a piece of rock, is history
the forest, a healing sanctuary
the setting sun, is not an ending
it is a new day, elsewhere
and in the first light of dawn, when you feel blue
remember,
a flower may open to the sun
but it smiles at you.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Monday – Filter
I was once the moon, that filled the night sky with my luminous eye. I was once the moon that brought sea to shore, faithfully, once more. I was once the moon that eclipsed the fierce sun, when the long day was done. I was once the moon, silent companion, that faded into obscurity during the day. I was once the moon, the promise, in darkness, we find light.
I was once your moon.
I am here.
Find me again.
a dawnbird
West Beach, Esperance, Western Australia
It is in the moment of falling,
losing grip of that fluid ground
his peripheral vision sharp
as he gazes briefly on those around
still waiting for that wave he caught
lying around,
waiting, while he falls
while he falls, he know he caught the wave boldly
the one they waited for
so he rises again, firm, steady,
boldly determined
on fluid ground once more.
by dawnbird
I love watching and photographing surfers. When I see them in the ocean, they teach me about hope, anticipation, courage, patience and most of all, determination.
So I start my first post of the year wishing that you have the courage to ride that wave because it is only in the falling, that you will know you have done so.
As always
a dawnbird
PS The poem came to me today from a place where I was two months ago which I will write about in the next post.
In response to Daily Word Prompt – Affect
fragments of time
seamed with silken thread
each moment, a memory of us
a dawn bird
In response to Word of the Day Challenger – Quilt
At that fluid edge
I collect pieces
chips, fragments, remnants
insert randomly
create storm cloud pathways
a mosiac, familiar to me
The way forward
is the way back
diverting, mending
unpicking threads of thoughts
that bind tightly
loosening, discarding
letting go,
letting in
forging the path ahead
where I want to be
with clarity.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – The Path Ahead
Somewhere in the Pilbara mining region, Western Australia
Iron earth
steel tipped boots
the softest footfalls
in my heart
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – Outdoors
Midwest, Western Australia
Like clouds,
thoughts of you swirl
destination unknown
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Thursday – The Blues
Untethered, like a feather I floated free
until you found me
as your hands healed, to make whole
I surrendered again and again
and in a fleeting moment
I questioned, is this me?
when you answered, in your smile
it is.
In response to RDP – Monday – Surrender
The Fascine, Carnarvon, Western Australia
Sail in my heart
crest the waves
you’ll find that safe harbour
where you belong.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – Nomad
VJ at One Woman’s Quest has invited us to respond to a quote by the Dalai Lama.
“The planet does not need more “successful people”. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.”
I believe healers, peacemakers, restorers, storytellers and lovers cross our path each day. To be unaware of their presence is a gift we can deny ourselves, and at our peril.
Every time I photograph something, it speaks to me on a deeper level. I am more open, as I go deeper within. The art and science of this, is never linger within, for a moment longer than necessary. That’s when you deny yourself the gift, the mystery of serendipity.
I love photographing gulls. They have a certain presence, a dignity, despite their reputation of being a nuisance. I love their attitude! They are fierce in the face of it all and captured in a brief moment between lens and me, which I now share with you.
Oh! she is brave
as she faces the sun
skin freckled with age
eye brows undone
bright eyed, without sleep
her day never done
Oh! she is brave
as she faces the sun
and offers her painted lips
to no one.
a dawn bird
In response to VJs Weekly Challenge – #94 – Wild Card
Charles Knife Canyon, Exmouth, Western Australia
In the valley of my mind
a quiet thought grows
exponentially.
a dawn bird
In response to Word of the Day Challenge – Valley
Arum lily
In that space of grey
I floated free
no one else there, but me
thoughts of you came and went
there were days, I wept myself spent
until there were days of joy,
you were right there with me
In your presence I was born again
allowing love and laughter to be my friend
Oh! how time has flown
I have grown younger by the day
where did age go, I cannot say
As I navigate through stumbles and falls
eager to experience all
the time has come to smile and say
an open heart can chart new ways
this I understand, today.
a dawn bird
In response to Word of the Day Challenge – Understand
A Shared Space 
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