omphaloskepsis
embroidered across a now mouldy cushion
in bold colours
bittersweet memories
his trendy sister gave it to me as a birthday present
light years ago
he was a strange esoteric creature
loved eating blinis with caviar
strumming his lute and singing elizabethan folk songs
under the fig tree in the garden
it went down like a lead balloon with most girls
considered pretentious and evoked disdain
i still have
the paper airplanes
covered in hugs kisses and messages
scribbled in ancient greek
he put in my deep freeze
to surprise me
you were seized by a special gift
success was your destiny
your arrival on the concert platform was welcomed
a young angelic face with fingers that danced across the keyboard
with ease like water in a stream gathering momentum
into a fierce current of polish passion
your pursuit of excellence overwhelming talent
stood you apart from the others in the competition
at 18 your career was launched your fate sealed
they say you are one of our greatest living pianists
Sundays Whirligig # 228
This Weeks Words from"Her First Call" Wendell Berry
seize fate always arrival welcome face water gather current eases pursuit other
The Appeal Court Conviction of Cardinal George Pell
Holocaust Museum
we weren't born then
but we know all about it
a reality etched on the psyche forever
you above all know the supreme importance
of a judicial system that can operate
without fear or favour based on evidence
rather than offering up a sacrificial lamb
to appease populist opinion
only 72 years ago your lot was eliminated
in a mass final solution with judicial approval
you must quake in your boots knowing
that we have returned to those terrible times
and here in the 'lucky country' of all places
be proud that you spoke up against
a sham mock trial
under enormous pressure
your integrity remains in tact
i pray that you will be given the strength
to withstand any reprisals
you are undoubtedly going to suffer
from the media baying for your blood
even without the jack boots sig heils
and 4th rate charlie chaplin impersonater
it's the same nightmare played out again
isn't it
only cast in a different setting
on white sandy beaches with blue skies
which if possible is even more sinister
but this time
there IS nowhere to escape to
Midweek Motif Poets United
Of the 325-page judgement delivered by the Court of Appeal, Justice Weinberg's reasons accounted for 200 pages.
"I
am troubled by the fact that I find myself constrained to differ from
two of my colleagues whose opinions I always respect greatly," he wrote.
"That
has caused me to reflect even more carefully upon the proper outcome of
this application. Having done so, however, I cannot, in good
conscience, do other than to maintain my dissent."
Chief
Justice Ferguson, in a summary of the Court of Appeal's ruling, said
Justice Weinberg found that at times the victim was inclined to
embellish aspects of his evidence, and that it contained discrepancies
and "displayed inadequacies".
"In
Justice Weinberg's view there was a significant body of cogent and, in
some cases, impressive evidence suggesting that the complainant's
account was, in a realistic sense, impossible to accept,"
"To his mind, there is a significant possibility that the cardinal may not have committed the offences.
Justice Weinberg said There is, to my mind, a
‘significant possibility’ that the applicant in this case may not have
committed these offences. That means that, in my respectful opinion,
these convictions cannot be permitted to stand. The only order that can
properly be made is that the applicant be acquitted on each charge.”
