Danse Macabre

the dead
summoned from their graves
party and dance all night long
in the morning they return
to wait another year



midweek motif - Poets United

Blue Sky Smiling At Me

artificial distances
will always be with us
the pecking order
has existed
since the stone age

money and power always rule
regardless of  the swapping of
controlling hands
anything that threatens the status quo
is eradicated on either side of politics
  
revolutions ultimately make little difference
they dilute themselves eventually
to revert to the same old regime values
again in a different guise
the oppressed taking on the role
of the conqueror without jackboots
under the " freedom for all " flag
meaning (people who think like us  )

our barbecues at the beach life style
confuses the issue
makes it even more sinister
and harder  for  folk to detect
fascism in the sunshine
under blue skies


"Key terms in metamodernism are dialogue, reconstruction, collaboration, interdisciplinary and transmedia work (collaborations across academic disciplines or creative genres/modes), inter- and hyper-textuality (the creation of new texts through the interaction of existing texts), generative paradox, generative ambiguity, simultaneity, engagement rather than exhibitionism, and, more broadly, the collapsing of artificial distances between concepts and people."

 Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

OctPoWrimo _ Days 27 - 31

Day 27






How did I get here?

my father used to say
at the end of world war 2
when he stumbled out of the jungle
my mother was the first woman
he clapped eyes on
he was joking ( i think )



Day 28

Mending the Broken Places

when your ego is battered and bruised
when you are past your expiry date 
tossed away like a sucked orange 
you need a kind loving person 
to mend your spirit
bring light back into your life
this is not always possible
so
get yourself a big squidgy ginger cat
write poetry  listen to music
cultivate a small herb pot garden
live  by the sea  swim with the fish
enjoy watching  the wonders of nature
at the beach



(the lifeguard is a very interesting species to observe)


Day 29

Lightness Of Being


not much lightness
in being these days
in fact
quite unbearably weighty with problems
still
believe it or not
there has never been a better time
in human history to be alive


Day 30

 Me or Who am I








i am solitary
a bit of a hermit

i am happiest swimming in the sea
or writing poems
i am out of step with the modern age
a dinosaur
an anachronism

in the grand scheme of things
my significance amounts to nought
i am but a mere grain of sand in a vast desert

but having said that
out of the 6 billion people on this planet
no one marinates olives better than i do



Day 31

Finding Peace


my grandfather used to say
the most important thing in life
is to be able to sleep soundly at night
with a clear conscience


he set that example
for all of us
a simple gentle soul
who fought in 2 world wars
and slept like a log


Thank you, Morgan Dragonwillow, Michelle Vecchitto, Esther Jones, and Maria L. Berg for hosting this month-long poetry challenge.

For The Weekend - Robert Glasper - So Beautiful (Live At Capitol Studios) (Official Video)

Forgiveness

be deaf
to the insults hurt and humiliation
ignore the betrayals
without thoughts of revenge

know this has  happened
to the best of us
the perpetrators are to be pitied

forgive if you think they deserve another chance
if not most importantly forget
forget they even exist
remove  them from your thoughts and life

inner peace is too precious a gift
to be compromised

Midweek Motif- Poets Inited

OctPoWrimo 2019 - Week 4

Day 21

Screaming into the wind





screaming into the wind
the sailing boats
carried our ancestors
in chains from afar

a recalcitrant lot
not deferential
irreverent
known for giving their betters
the aussie salute
the legacy still lingers










 Day 22

broken pieces






the japanese
fill the cracks with gold
to restore broken  bowls
kintsugi





the recyclists 
use discarded beer and wine bottles
to make beautiful windows
kashikoi


Day 23

Fur Babies 





an endless source of comfort
affection and squidgy cuddles
marmalade boy purrs loudly like a steam engine
sprawled out diagonally across the queen size bed
dreaming of fresh salmon and shrimp
oblivious to the fact that  lady bountiful
provider of his lavish sybaritic life style
panderer to his every whim
is unable to get into her own bed



Day 24


BREATHING


her passion was as important
as breathing to her
she spent years of hard work
dedicated to achieving her goal
thought of nothing else
it was at the forefront of her existence


the idea
of not continuing
of giving up her dream
was unthinkable
she came so close
to getting what she wanted

she faltered briefly
that's all it took
she lost everything
she didn't die
it just felt that way for a while
she still keeps on breathing




Day 25

White









Cinquain

snow white
has a wild side 
not all sweetness and light
hanging out with the 7 dwarves
bad move



Day 26

What has been unspoken







what has been unspoken
between us will remain so
it serves no purpose to speak now
after so long a silence
time to go our separate ways
time to let go

Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do For Love (Slayd5000)

Shadorma

friday night
best night of the week
thoughts of you
blissing out
on man's awesome legacy
jazz and all that jazz

Mini weekend challenge with Sherry Blue Sky
Imaginary Garden with Real Toads

Midweek Motif _ Poets United

This Is Just To Say

By William Carlos Williams

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

RESPONSE

this is just to say

i am making lobster mornay tonight

with a fresh green salad 

followed by

fresh fruit berry salad

with mango and passionfruit icream

forgive me

for not offering you any

it tastes delicious 

goes spiffingly with chilled champagne

and you're not getting any of that either

Sunday Muse # 77

this very latest
creative approach to discipline
(very popular in sweden }
gives a new meaning to ' time out ' 
replacing strict outdated methods
such as
sitting on the naughty step for ten minutes
or  no tv for an hour 

the odd passing pantechnicon
wild bears and wolves 
could prove to be a slight problem
but then  risk taking is part of the journey
confronting your demons is the way
to overcome them

besides there is plenty of fresh air
with  views to inspire a connection
to the environment and reflect on profound concepts
which is what we all know children love to do
if only they were not distracted by traditional subjects
like reading writng and arithmetic or
discipline of any kind

best of all on' time out'
you don't have to go to school
tolerate relics of a past age
boring teachers lecturing you
on
why you shouldn't take drugs
why you shouldn't bully others
why you shouldn't light wild fires in the  school holidays
or
why you shouldn't snatch handbags from old ladies in the mall

worst of all
there are too many  politically incorrect teachers
espousing oppressive fanatically religious based attitudes
such as
why you shouldn't  have sex before the age of ten
why you have to wait until high school before participating in
the very popular sex ed lesson of slipping the condoms over the banana
poor kids
all these restrictions
this haranguing just  goes on and on and on

with any luck in some enlightened country
traditional school subjects and school will be banned forever
and of course there will be research to show how much
happier well adjusted and better informed the kids will be
running free frolicking naked in the forest practising their sign language
because no one can read spell or write anymore
in the progressive institutions of la la land

OctPoWrimo 2019 - Week 3

Day 13

hugging a tree




An avenue of ancient trees destroyed
Anzac Parade Sydney Australia.



instead of skipping
round and round the mulberry bush
hug a tree instead
cos if we keep chopping the trees all down
we'll surely all be dead

so kindly heed this warning
politicians and developers out there
decimating the poor old trees
without a thought or care

money  and votes wont protect you
when your final day has come
burning in hell for eternity
means you're really just plain dumb



Day 14

Mother Earth






a mother earth personality type
she was not
she could create thunder and lightning
with a  single look

high drama was the genre
of the family theatre
each player deserving of
an academy award
(myself included)
we are alike in many ways

we clashed terrribly
mount vesuvius meets krakatoa
but her heart was in the right place
she did her best
she was a good person


Day 15





Mother May I

remind you that what you told me was untrue
i was not  delivered by the stork
and you did not find me in the cabbage patch
because i remember clearly being dropped into the marigolds
by a flock of doves



Day 16

Father Time





a thank you from
a grateful and loving son

what better way to spend
quality time with your dad
than in carnegie hall
performing together

an experience of a life time
for Lang Guo - ren
his beaming smile says it all

Lang Lang's father gave up his job as a policeman in a rural area to move to a city where Lang lang could study the piano and pursue his dream They lived in poverty for many years. His mother could not go with them because she had to  help support them in her present employment.They were separated for about seven years.

Day 17

Family




undoubtedly
the most difficult
decision to make
to cut that cord

she wouldn't do it

the destructive family member
who keeps deliberately punching holes
in the life raft
must be cast adrift
for the sake and survival of the others

she wouldn't do it

the result
a toxic miserable dysfunctional family
a nightmare - a living hell
and for what ?

he is in his forties now
she is still bailing him out of trouble





Day 18

My First Disappointment  





snooping  around
in nana's wonderland wardrobe
i saw the dress  - yellow and beautiful

on christmas day under the tree
it was wrapped in a box with a handwritten card
from santa
my little heart sank like a stone

i was seven - bingo the penny dropped
never let on for years
that i knew who was eating the cake
and drinking the port left out by the fireplace
on christmas  eve - it wasn't santa

Day 19

Purple




singapore orchids
purple my morning
the oranges all aglow
a spring greeting
after a long winter



Day 20

Mountains or Oceans






the miles tick over
on my old red clunker
alternating between
the bush and the sea
best of both worlds
the ancient plains
meet
the south pacific

one day
when i am unable to drive
long distances anymore
i will have to choose





my old red clunker (hand painted)

Octpowrimo 2019

Day 12







Black is the Colour





this takes me back to the time
we livcd  in paddo as students
all those years ago

you had just discovered counter tenors
you said you would perform with him one day
and you did
you did everything you said
you were ever going to do

ran into you decades later
you had not aged much
but you were unrecognisable

that warm funny person
who used to sing on the stone wall
outside the church waiting for the bus
had disappeared

the rock solid success
had come at a price
the chill and indifference
were palpable

for the first time
i warmed to my failure and began
to cherish my uneventful  life

Wild Friday with Saana Rizvi - Poets United

Everyday Living

everyday living for the modern day superwoman or
how to ensure balmy behaviour in advanced age


they did it
she did it
i did it
some of us are still doing it

no one knows how
because it's not humanly possible
yet somehow we survive

i wonder
if it takes a toll on our sanity
at some point later on


please excuse me for a moment
i need to make a call to the police
i think the  sock thief is back
i can hear rummaging in the drawers







Poets United - Midweek Motif

Carpe Diem Meditation # 105

waving long grass
all that remains of ancient warriors
trace of dreams

Basho






spirits still linger
of the struggling pioneers
almost 200 years ago

a pall settles
blue skies and sunshine
make no difference

Octpowrimo 2019 Week 2

starts 1:38

Day 8 - scent

October
The Season Of Poetry

scent of a woman
great movie
great tango dancing

oh

that could have been me
too many years  ago

oh   well

perhaps i am exaggerating slightly
she is much more demure
besides i always had a tendency
to lead
to take charge
al pacino  might not like being swung around
like a rag doll
by an aussie outback sheila

ho hum


curled up in bed watching this
in oversized animal print flannellette pyjamas
woolly socks with marmalade boy
a gal  can still dream

sigh

anyway al pacino is blind
so i could  be in with a chance

oh dear


 

 Day 9

A Cinquain

What do you see? 






i see
a huge struggle
to survive here on earth
our progeny will not thank us
good luck!



Day 10

Touch



Vladimir Horowitz ( 1903 - 1989 )


Cinquains


no one
has his deft touch
just inspirational
he will will not pass this way again
farewell

maestro
extraordinaire
you've given us so much
too few have even heard of you
pity


Day 11 - Silence or Noise

Shadorma








city life
rush hour traffic noise
crowds and stress
outback life
peace and quiet with no people
no water either

the silence
of the dying lambs
dead cattle
shrivelled crops
ongoing drought down under
farmers pray for rain

OctPoWrimo 2019

Day One

Dark Night Of The Soul


she can still hear
the lonely train whistle 
puncturing the night sadness
clickety clack clickety clack
it sped along
lights in the distance whizzing by
face pressed to the window
hugging her little suitcase
heading for the unknown
no one waved goodbye

Day 2

Changeling


who am i?


this beautiful angelic child
a picture of innocence
must have have been stolen by demons
and substituted with a changeling
causing untold suffering to most of the world

Day 3

Womb





a cosy kitchen
the womb of a home
where life boils and bubbles
with good conversation laughs and drinks
whilst peeling the vegetables


Day 4.

Cage - Pewter Silver or Gold




Michael Leunig-another loser has-been fades into obscurity

some cages
are more comfortable than others
nevertheless
all are  still prisons

freedom is precious
best fly into obscurity
ignoring the taunts of' ' loser '
by  those rattling their expensive chains


Day 5

Doorway - opened or closed




he was always mindful
about caring for his old friends
including them in his good fortune
on his way up the ladder

when he lost his wealth
on his way back down
they were nowhere to be found
all doors were closed to him

life -  the reality version


Day 6

Out Of The Blue



blast from the past
greetings from a hermit
a message from dodo
sent  this pic
from Saint Ninian's cave

it took a visit  to the austere saint's bleak outpost 
in the north sea to prod his memory
still
she was pleased to hear from the extinct bird
he had not forgotten her


a pebble smiley is
a nice celtic 'thought that counts' gesture
however




red roses -
expensive ones
(lots of them:)
uplifts the mood state
to a greater spiritual height
for a blue lady
of frankish papist disposition:)







Day 7

Tongue




this chameleon beauty
can zap a cricket
with its magical tongue
in an instant
a great testament
to the supreme artist and grand designer