Tag: poetry

A grounded ‘bird’

DSCN7660.jpg

I woke at 5 am
sat through a storm
watching lightening scrawl the walls
spotlighting dark recesses
the traffic of thoughts,
at times, gridlocked
was louder than the thunder
vibrating along solid foundation
I thought I saw rain, maybe felt it too
but I was still inside
contained,
within a safe cocoon
I watched it trickle down the window pane
once removed
the beat was a rhythm
not upbeat, not even vaguely familiar
and I knew
there was no dance left in me
the dawn, was stronger than the storm
it broke through the muscled clouds
from the silence
I heard the familiar winged flight of waterbirds,
smaller birds, too
Oriented to home
I walked in a garden, freshened by rain
saw a feather and from the quill,
a message for me
birds rest in the darkest hour of the night
and at first light, may shed what they don’t need
to make the launch lighter
but despite the discard,
their wings are still wings
so they fly the charted course
the last stretch
in a flock, a pair, or alone
as nature intended.

a dawn bird

 

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!

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

 

The Love Letter

DSCN8593.jpg

I wrote a love letter in the sand
one I could never send
I started at the top of the page
and wrote until I reached the end
My letter was simple
it had no beginning
it had no end
It was continuous,
unadorned with grammar or punctuation
before I could turn the page
a gust of wind carried the letter beyond my reach
and scattered some of the words across the beach,
and the rest in the air
In the sandy haze
I found the letter,
gathered the words I wanted to say
and in the silence of the night
I continue to write
my love letter, to you
that I started earlier today.

a dawn bird

Runway Love (Sequel to Serendipity)

thumb_IMG_3054_1024.jpgIt 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

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 Escape

DSCN9384.JPGIt’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

 

Just swipe right

DSCN7520.jpg

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

DSCN8118.jpg

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