The Myth of a Sydney Spring

wild wind and stormy sea at bondi
indoors today
by the fire
swaddled in furs

spring is coming
with sun and flower and blossom
mother nature has lost her watch

she has been on a rampage
tearing up texas
the monsoon destroying south east asia
something is upsetting her




Alfred Deller the father of counter tenors based his vocal style and timbre on Ferrier's voice. She is largely forgotten now . This song was incorporated in the soundtrack for the movie' Le Gout des Autres ' 2000

Self Respect

lady bountiful  plants flowers
in gardens where they are never watered
deludes herself she has friends
tolerates indifferent behaviour because
she is  so nice

the  quintessential honey pot to buzzing free loaders
tires of her role as spear carrier of last resort
precariously balancing on the lowest rung
of the pecking order of importance
after many years of service

last on the list - last page in the address book 
finally removes her t shirt  logo
'mine is to give'

she will find a lot more time
to tend her own flowers
sit amongst her own roses
have a tea party with herself
and enjoy good company
(her own)

Mid week Motif  - Poets United

Home

your warm chest and heart
is my only true home
a safe place to be





mouse house teapot house
everyone should have one
a simple safe life




swimming in a storm
unsafe dangerous stupid but
exhilarating






it is not safe
to be near temptation
too hard to resist



(cctv footage)
Jill Meagher murdered on her way home  2012

not safe for women
to go out at night alone
sad sick society








a safe childhood
taken for granted by most
the greatest life gift


Haiku Horizons
Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads

Richard Strauss - Oboe Concerto, TrV 292 (1945)

Srinivasa Ramanujan

And of course there must be something wrong
in wanting to silence any song. - Robert Frost

the jealous dons
threatened by his genius
tried to silence his song


mocked and derided
by his colleagues
one inspired by the divine light
a dazzling sunshine force
is hard to smother

because
of this poverty stricken
indian boy
black holes were discovered

his equations gave us
and are still giving us
the key
to unlocking the secrets
of the universe

few in the west
have even heard of him
God bless you Srinivasa


A movie highly recommended *****

Mid Week Motif - Poets United

Winter Wednesday

wednesday already
life is
too busy
too fast

there are
too many things
to do

i sit for a moment
catching the last of the sun
on the dinghy which everyone uses
as a seat

stare across
at g's place
at a's place
at my old place

and mourn
the fact
we are all
dead now

Politics - Aussie Style

they say he's a pom
senator nick proves he's not
aussies can't drink warm beer

Back Story
Senator Nick Xenophon was born in Australia but has been accused of being a British citizen. Politicians in Australia are not permitted to be citizens or potential citizens of another country. Nick's Dad is a Greek Cypriot . Cyprus used to be a British Dominion. He had a photo taken at the British Hotel in Adelaide drinking warm beer. In Australia this is not as yet a criminal offence but most Aussies regard it as such.




bellinis on the beach
a summer drink delight
happiness in a glass



in very poor taste
senator hansen fronts up
in a burka




our deputy leader
apart from being insane
is a kiwi



no fan of Johnny Depp
says 'bugger off' and take
your dogs with you





boo and pistol
have the last laugh watch out for
big fush with  sharp teef









burnt snags on the barbie
the taste has got to be right
to pass the test

Wild Flowers

winter is still with us
wild flowers a reminder 
spring is not far away

For The Weekend.

quelle surprise!
a washing machine
for dinosaurs

my new one
plays a few bars of this
at the end of the cycle
remarkable

a shred of the civilised
has managed to sneak through
the age of the barbarian
and into my laundry
thank you samsung

Men Will Be Boys

a flood of fear
descended upon the earth
when the boys
challenged each other
threatening our peace

bigger is not better
so put them away chaps
and play nicely
in the rumpus room
anyone for table tennis?

Midweek Motif Poets United

Haiku Horizons

 Tanka

up up and away
in a blue sky fantasy
facebook futility
redefines 'banal' or 'trite'
not to mention 'vacuous'

Dr Jane Goodall

this beautiful english rose
fell in love with tarzan of the apes
aged ten
peeved and heartbroken
that he married the wrong jane
she developed a passion for all things
african and decided to make it her life

courageous and undaunted
she sailed off on her own
to africa to follow her dream
supported by her wonderful mother

she proved animals have personality and feelings
said anyone who has grown up
with a dog or cat knows that
and became an activist on their behalf

the best moment of jane's life
was when
the chimp released back into the wild
thanked jane by giving her a hug






the chimp had never met jane before but
somehow knew jane was the boss
and responsible for saving her life

jane a full blown rose
now at 81 
is still a beautiful woman
a wonderful human being
and an inspiration to us all

Heeding Haiku with Chevrefeuille - MLMM

she was born in the waves
scooped up by a pelican and
dropped into a cabbage patch

RED GARLAND - Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year

late winter
friday night drinks
jazz on the menu
i'm in a mateus rose mood
all pink and bubbly


offstage in the wings
spring is patiently waiting
to make an appearance
a sigh of relief and applause
from the audience

Kintsugi - The Art Of Mending

you had  been doing this
your entire life
you never knew it was  kintsugi
i hadn't even heard of sushi



you believed in beauty originality
and recycling
surrounding yourself with it
beer and wine bottles
were made into windows



broken plates were made into splash backs
thrown out  tiles smashed up into mosaic floors



tip tyres made into chairs
the ugly transformed into something magical
you were the consummate artist



at that time i was young
wanted everything scandinavian and new
your talent was wasted on me
just another thing to add to my litany of regrets

Midweek Motif Poets United

Student Days

i remember her
as a  naughty  hormone driven student
dressed in all the layers of finery borrowed
from her flat mate
she gave a good imitation of puissant confidence
but deep down  a reactive nervousness
lurked  hidden behind her smiles bows
and waving to the gallery



she performs les gnossiennes with feeling
needs to win this competition
her gain would pay for her mikimoto pearls
which had been in hock for more than a month

Wordle 167 MLMM

finery hidden gain reactive gnossienne naughty
hormones imitation puissant feeling layer gallery

Haiku Horizons

frantically busy
stop and smell the roses
our time here is short

For The Weekend

post script
she is singing this one
for you

Haiku Horizons

Sunset

outback sunset
already a faded
memory

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Slavery

more slaves than ever before
mostly in my global region
we all have seen it
aussies on our cheap holiday trips
turning a blind eye
shopping for our bargains
sipping our cocktails by the pool




when a stranger begs you
to take his young daughters with you
for a better life
when a young woman asks you to take her sick child
to the hospital because she knows a bule ( white person)
will be taken seriously
when a girl who is being sexually molested at work
asks you for help to escape
when you see filthy old western men
go into the cubicles with 15 year old girls
supposedly to have  a massage
so on and so forth
you feel uncomfortable
you know that something is seriously wrong
with countries you visit where
this is going on
you empty your wallet
and help out as much as you can
but it is a bandaid cure

and when you finally become so blase
about stepping over beggars on the footpath
when the 50 year old  low caste
taxi driver's eyes well up with tears
because you stop for an ice cream
and buy him one too
(he has never had one before)
you think FAARK!!!
i cannot go on
i cannot look at this anymore
i can pray
i can pay
but that is not enough
i have to try to do something else
something anything


Midweek Motif - PU

Shadorma

bronte beach
5.30 wednesday
fresh sea air
spume and spray
the boys are brilliant today
riding the big waves

marvel at
the agility
of these kids
wunderkind
just amazing to watch them
me in coat and scarf