My canoe
nothing else to do
just paddle away
enjoy the day
my canoe
Photography days #35.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
canoe
2
Algorithm
Curse of our ever accelerating time
leach of the time once yours and mine
funnelling us to places we don’t want to be
presenting us with things we don’t want to see
corporate instructions with manipulative intent
designed to create outrage reinforcement and vent
secretive grabs pull our clicks and attention
urging us to resist when facts are mentioned
I loath the discomfort the rush to agree
the social fragmentation from this wedge
being driven between you and me
Follow the simple non digital instructions depicted here to put out the fire!
Poetry days #42.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Griffin
can you see the griffin dance
across the garage door
the sun made griffin just by chance
of course I wanted more
more the sun would not give me
and the griffin faded fast
this was my very first griffin
alas I expect my last
Photography days #33.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Rust: an ode to climate change
Mine robe is rust
it’s purpose refuge
oxidised shell around me
protector of my heart
a flutter
barrier to the world
a clutter
betwixt my rusty robe and me
lies a sea
of tranquility
where mind and soul
are at rest
where love beats strong
in swelling breast
I dwell in rust
on rusty bed
my pillow brown
for rusty head
there find me
with pledge to you
amongst helter skelter
rust piles askew
through water deep
I will walk with you
with you beside
your rusty guide
to rusty haven
secure engraven
come stay with me
we're safe inside
in rusty fortress
under rusty sky
this place to be
abide with me
a rusty mantle
tough rust retreat
that malign forces
will not defeat
my trusty eye
my rusty robe
deflects the fierce
threats of the globe
the purveyors of hate
the snide deprived
the walking hopeless
the full divide
to whom protective rust
has been denied
I trust in rust
as I trust in you
together we’ll forge
our rusty due
the crust of rust
our rusty glue
Poetry days #41.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
resurrection
If the bright sun arising marks renewal of each day
why is it so I persist in feeling dull and grey
if the sun sinking below the horizon offers rest this way
why is it each restless night tormenting dreams hold sway
every night the same every week barely endured
why the sun bothers at all I do not know
when no resurrection is assured
Poetry days #39.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
the poet’s magic carpet
Anonymous poems from times immemorial
Modern poems with layers to peel
Poetry is the magic carpet
Flying to places unknown
Ride on the carpet and know you have grown
Poetry days #38.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Hope
Hope is the beautiful anticipation of the next time we meet
hope is that driver to deeds not yet complete
hope makes the future worth working for
hope is the key for unlocking any door
hope blooms eternal
Poetry days #37.
The writing is my own and subject to copyright. Bloom is an artwork by artist / recycler Kate Howard. Winner: Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize. Scrap, Wow from Waste Exhibition, Swanpool, Victoria 2018.
still life in the bush
sometimes an image strikes you
before you even take it
still life in the bush
make it!
Photography days #32.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Look Pa
"Look Pa!" and I look
a hand an eye
a playground nook
and I smile
that's all it took
another image
for my photo book
Photography days #31.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Tableland walking
Walking Boundary Hill Road in dappled sun
from the Mannas and Blue Gums lining the run
the trees are magnificent and so is the landscape
when you are walking here the feeling is great
Photography days #30.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Message to the writers
Do not become a writer
because there is so much to say
there are so many people saying it
tongues never in the way
do not become a writer
everything has been said
by children in their mother's arms
by lords and ladies lying dead
do not become a writer
calm the words falling from your head
distribute them elsewhere
into conversation instead
do not become a writer
the research will drive you crazy
and when you aren't doing it
you'll be calling yourself lazy
do not become a writer
the work that is written down
may well be your epitaph
when the regime comes to town
do not become a writer
tortured by your words
never enough to say the things
you always wanted read
do not become a writer
your partner will claim rights
to the lost hours of writing
to the sitting up at nights
do not become a writer
your opinion will be your end
mouth of ashes words and clashes
an addiction to pressing send
do not become a writer
no one will ever publish you
they'll only say to your face
just to yourself be true
Poetry days #36
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
blue-tongued
this shedding Blue-tongued lizard
discards its skin
to reveal anew
the true colours within
Photography days #29.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Black swan, Earlston
black swan glides smoothly by
ancient red gums standing high
take a breath let out a sigh
enjoy the moment no asking why
Photography days #28.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
On Poetry
Hold those words as one beloved
hold them close to your chest and let time slip
step outside time as one embraced
in the arms of poems that hold you in their grip
be taken to that strange dimension
where all is compressed and distilled
into new forms of truth turned this way and that
by the bent of the poet’s will
reminded of who we truly are
by words that by being will never lie
weep laugh and gasp in that suspension of time
being far from everywhere yet ever closer by
with thanks to Marcella Polain (Ed) Australian Poetry Anthology Volume 11, Foreword II, Australian Poetry Ltd. 2024
Poetry days #
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Young Lovers
Secretly
we meet as separate, boy and girl
but take each other’s hand for company
and together in our own world
forget
their world which has split us, violently
we tarry a while, for our regret
is felt both deeply and silently
to give up our child before our prime
when all we wanted was decency
all we needed was more time
to be a family and only
to be with each other as three together
instead of separate and lonely
Poetry days #34.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Autumn haiku 2 for #01 (variations)
Fallen maple leaf
Colour faded to dull brown
Winter is coming
Fallen maple leaf
Together we fall to ground
Winter is coming
Poetry days #33.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Nobody
Everybody is nobody
did you know?
nobody is everybody
in the end
with nothing to show
Poetry days #32.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Spotted pardalote
This pardalote resides near the ground
a nest, burrow or embankment
"sleep dee dee" is its call
a sighting generates excitement
Photography days #27.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
East
A vivid sun rose from the east
it offered me a good day
my withered body sought solace
in what was promised in that way
I rose to greet and meet the sun
looking forward to its promise
my creaking bones and stiffened joints arose
with only a little grimace
I followed the sun throughout the day
from sunroom to verandah
seeking light absorbing heat
with more vigour and more candour
no pain relief was necessary as the day progressed
I calmly bathed in soaking sun
therapy at its best
I gave thanks for another day
of appreciating the sun
its warmth and illumination of the world
was delightful to this one
as sick as I may be
every coming day
I return to partial health
as the sun rays
wash themselves over me
with their golden wealth
and so the night too
looks a little less grim
as the suns light fades and the evening chill
slowly settles in
I wrap myself in a blanket
I sip hot tea and sit
by a warming fire never the sun
but I take what I can get
as the aches return the cramps begin
I look forward to tomorrow
and to the east I’ll turn my gaze
hoping for a little more sun to borrow
Poetry Days #31.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work
Witness
We witness their leaving like smoke in the wind
the wildlife departure impossible to rescind
following First Nations people out of the bush
into memory alone at an increasing rush
when we came here there were many koalas just 16 years ago
now their sighting is uncommon as they falter and go
and the freshwater crays I haven’t seen for five years
the metal blue of their backs absent - extinction fears
there once was a blackfish but it also is gone
from the spring creek below us it once called home
and the robins are fewer where they once dominated
the platypus just hanging on from being eradicated
I’m sure the list is much longer but what more can one do
than try to protect what is left sheltered in a zoo
more people and cars, disease, cats, foxes, more stock
more land cleared, less native food, climate change, ticking clock
we should know better but our efforts are weak
we talk local but the world must now deliver what we seek
Poetry days #30.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
14 Yarra views
Melbourne’s Yarra River and embankment can be busy places. I have published some of these photos before, but thought this group made a nice new set.
It's the river that binds
Melbourne's spreading towers
to the city
and when the weather is good
it looks oh so pretty!
Photography days #26.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Lost
I put a penny in my pocket
and on the way I lost it
I lost it, I lost it,
and on the way I lost it.
Ref: traditional nursery rhyme 'A Tisket a Tasket'
Photography days #25.
The photo is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my workload.
Tableland Talk December 2024
Spring beaks
chirping for attention
mouths always open
feeding is a frenzy
chicks ever hoping
Photography days #24.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
Sleep time / story time
Baby sister is deep asleep
It is time for father and son
"Tell me a new story dad,"
"make it a really good one!"
Photography days #23.
All work is my own and subject to copyright. I do not use AI. I do not want AI to use my work.
poetography.ink 