The Last Small Stone

I dislodge the last small stone

and toss it into the river, knowing

as January flows into February,

so the tides of life

lap against new shores of opportunity.

In this city of Christian affluence

separated from the flock

he awakes on the sunstriped boardwalk

imprisoned by loneliness

in a damp canvas sheet.

Too late

At the clearance sale
bargain hunters sifted
through the residue
of his mother's life

much later

he thought of the dignity
of a post funeral pyre.

The koala rocks

Against a lullaby of highway music
the koala rocks

gently, in the arms
of a grandmother gum.

Carpe diem

the sun smiles

in flashes of gold

capricious carp

seize the day

Australia Day

Australia Day



Glorified settlement and
shameful invasion

collide in celebration
and grief

past overshadows present
and taints the future

until all live as one
under the southern stars.

On looking up

clouds surf across a sea of blue
breakers crashing against the horizon

an inverse view

Winds of Change

Rain in summer
a steamy romance

until rain dries up
and passion cools

Autumn arrives
on winds of change.

Words lost to time

small stones slip through my fingers
like sand in an hourglass;
words lost to time

Underwater symphony

along the fence wire, clumps
of uprooted grass;
crotchets and quavers
of an underwater symphony

Grampians

Small stones bathe
in flooded rock pools.

Unreachable

I climb the hill
to see beyond the horizon;
unreachable.

At the clinic

At the clinic

blank faces of strangers
gaze into uncertainty

Black Velvet

rain dampens the nap
of a black velvet night

Essence of Life

discarded mango seed
holds the essence of new life

A promise in silver

clouds drape across the day
a promise in silver

Fashion

Holes in clothes, once shameful
an accepted fashion statement.

Can we expect the slap flap
of a sole coming free
to compliment the ensemble?

Nature's Cull

tomato bush broken by nature's cull
I mourn the loss
budding promise unfulfilled

Two Elders

the box elder droops
bowed by humidity

we stand side by side
two elders wilting

The Flood

For the third day, rain
drummed against roof tops
where families clung in hope,
and desperation
as new rivers rose
to snake their way
along urban roads, and in front doors
of the dispossessed
while the tom tom message of the deluge
implored all to flee
to higher ground.