Dingo

 the dingo dogs

 sit together
 teeth bared

 pretending they are leaping tigers

 watch for an opportunity
 to strike the lone monk
 meditating in the paddock

 learned in the art of cowardice

 they hunt in packs
 only attack the unprotected
 even babes in swaddling clothes

 Sundays Whirligig #211

:

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THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "White Dog" by Australian poet Susan Hampton: meditation, sit, tigers, together, monk, cowardice, protects, paddock, learn, dog, leaping, watch 

The Sunday Muse # 53

it's all over now veronica
you're at peace now veronica

twenty six
and  already considered  over the hill
marriage to a lord
was not what you expected
veronica


no one important
came to the wedding
except a dusted off
old dowager countess
propped up for the occasion

afraid a major's daughter
didn't  quite cut the mustard
in the aristocratic circles
veronica

ensuing
bitter divorce battles
custody battles
brutality
beatings
drunkeness
gambling
drove you to the edge
of insanity
no one was going to take your side
veronica

poor nanny  sandra got murdered
by mistake
the bludgeon was meant for you
veronica

you
were murdered in different ways
veronica

lost your children
no contact with them for thirty five years
never met your five grandchildren
died alone
poor veronica





when it rains or snows
maybe  a  kind thought
can be spared for the woman
who gave the homeless
shelter

when they are dry and warm
i hope they at least remember you
veronica



Veronica Lucan left all her wordly possessions  and money to the homeless.

ANZAC DAY

when i'm feeling blue
when i'm feeling alone
i remember a place
where i am welcomed
with big smiles and hugs


Carpe Diem Meditation  # 81

A Letter To Vincent Van Gogh

well, dear vincent
you are a household name now
you even feature on wall paper
everyone knows about the ear too





they have made movies
written books about you
your work sells for obscene amounts of money

if you were alive now
you would look like this
cool



they say you were obsessed with yellow
people are not obsessed with colours now
they are obsessed with money
we have returned to the dark ages



just think you could be sleeping in this bedroom
with your backdrop wallpaper of  beautiful almond blossoms
instead of this one



how about this for a kitchen




better than dining with
the potato eaters
in this one eh?


these dutch lamps fetch a fortune now
i carried one on board as hand luggage
and dislocated my shoulder


on reflection
i think
you were better off
even without  a sou
to your name


life is too fast now
no one has time for each other
forget about drinks with the postie




or
madame ginoux
she would charge you for the mending and meals
nowadays




you would miss this



the south of france is not the same
full of tourists ad foreign residents


i found this
doesn't look like one of yours
no one knows about it
it's ok
your secret is safe

Mid week Motif - Poets United

The Sunday Muse # 52

it is so heartening
when one legged people
find each other
at the bus stop
and make a connection
especially at easter

Counter Culture

THIS WEEK'S WORDS  at Sundays Whirligig come from "Daylight Rain" by Australian poet Michael Dransfield:







daylight, drunk, hearth, forward, inside, money, fire, anywhere, words, sometimes, spacious, map


veni vidi
and decided it was not for me
none of them made any money
out of words
there was no map to success

painters and poets of the counterculture
lived in spacious dilapidated condemned mansions
with big fire places
mantlepieces piled high with mail
which was never forwarded


people would sleep anywhere inside
after drunken parties
stoned off their faces
on the stairs
on the floor near the hearth
sometimes awoken by the occasional crash
of a falling ceiling
amazingly
no one was ever killed


i don't remember
much daylight or sunshine about them
grit grey was the colour of cool
the dreaded bourgeoise existence to be avoided at all costs
suddenly became enormously appealing

Notre Dame

our worst fears
it survived wars
for 850 years

notre dame cathedral
engulfed in flames
our worst fears

it beggars belief
unimaginable in holy week
for 850 years

they weep and sing hymns
trying to stave off
our worst fears

an important icon has gone
present and past for the world
for 850 years

part of france disappeared
cannot be replaced
our worst fears
for 850 years









we are all shedding
tears
and tears
and tears
and tears

Book Titles

things that sting
inside putin's russia
things
a story of the sixties
a man asleep

You Are My One Temptation

Mid Week Motif - Poets United




cinquain


you were
my temptation
i am recovered now
took a while to exorcise you
six years





it's hard
ridding yourself
of a big pink doughnut
such a delicious temptation
i did

Mothers Day

memories of home
my mother's wireless and her
violet patterned  teacup


















my mother loved romantic movies
it's where she found a little  happiness
that and her books







she always wore a scarf to church
on sunday and holy days
never missed
not even once




she lit votive candles
the church gave her comfort
her rebellious daughter did not





she  always had fresh flowers
bought every friday after work
snapdragons were a favourite




forever generous and thoughtful
a surprise subscription
to seventeen magazine

tickets
for both my best friend and i
to  see our dreamboat idol dance



(nureyev)

all when i was still at school






























my beautiful mother
 hung this print in my room
i never realised at the time
it was a message of love

Waltzing Matilda

Sunday Whirligig

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "Waltzing Matilda" by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson: waltzing, drink, catch, billabong, shade, glee, alive, ghost, tree, shoved, pass, come






it came to pass
these convict sheilas
told the powers that be
with glee
to shove it
dinky di
in no uncertain terms

they laid the foundations for irreverence
 disrespect for authority and larrikinism
the hallmark once of being a true bluie aussie

drinking billy tea in the shade of an old gum tree
by a billabong is a fantasy kept alive in the  bush ballads
the ghost of early colonial days

most aussies live in cities on the coast
have never been out past the black  stump
only know billabong as a surfwear label





if any country blokes catch up with this galah
for his woeful rendition of waltzing matilda
the silly bugga might find
he will be feeling a bit crook for a few days

Cascade Form

tibby tried her best
to fit in with the rest
without much success

the ears did not fool anyone
she was destined to be different
tibby tried her best

poor puss had spent
her whole life trying
to fit in with the rest

trying to please them
was a waste of time
without much success

Midweek Motif Poets United

a poem is a sad song
dissolves a heart
into a flood of tears
a poem is a kookaburra
it makes you laugh
a poem grabs you by the ears
shouts at you
raises your blood pressure
a poem can make you fall in love
with someone you have not met
a poem unlocks your mind
lies on your pillow at night
whispers the truth
our  genius
smarty pants billy born in april
can achieve all  of this together
in one poem
















Happy Birthday Darling !