Red Tears Stain

History’s pages repeat
red tears stain
the red earth
the green plains
the untouched tribes forgotten
hoping to be forgot, instead
long pools of red
ignorance
arrogance
avoidance
pretence,
we don’t see
won’t see
can’t see
all around
red tears stain, our—
hearts
minds
souls
conscious,
for what was
will never be again
never too late to stem the flow
staunch
bandage
heal and recuperate
beg forgiveness
be at one—
in time the stains will fade

On becoming

Born
created
from an egg
waxed
mother-of-pearl
pure form
biding time—
that right moment
unleash all things
for humanity
then for our sins
lightning
thunder marks the sky
heaven bursts in continuous splats of rain
down to
rich earth
fertile land
arid soil
acrid dirt
vegetation—
green land marks
little do you know, tomorrow they will be cleared
make room for stainless steel
artificial light boxes
stacked one on top of the other
mass genocide
even the Immortals no longer exist
life reigns full of politics
this, never in your plan
three parts, simple—
the sky
the land
the sea
how could we have got it wrong...

Tender are the Stairs to Heaven

Tender are the stairs to Heaven
leading innocent souls above
wondrous beauty
effervescent
rise up from an eternal nothing
ascend into perpetual bliss
rung by rung
by step by step
floating,
hover
pause, but just for one moment
Izanami—Radiant sun
cast your warmth over us
share the vastness of your home
Moon goddess—Tsuki-yami
elegant dancer,
moonbeam splendor
in a cascading waterfall of opulent light
sisters forever destined to never meet again
how cruel your fate
how lonely your time—
Beauty, but your curse

Soul mates

Love times one
pleasured by affection
soul mates in life

Love

When your love is worth more
than his love
you cry on the inside and gallantly bare your heart
with sorrow
longing
and melancholy
to him
the world
the universe

hear me
why do you need more
than me
my life
my all
makes me question—me
not you
never you, because you knew
what I would be thinking, that I was never
first choice
last choice in a race
in which I won’t win
can’t win

when odds are stacked against you right at the starting line
the inception
beginning
of that day
that time
and you know what I mean
to love me as you say
on first glance
when all I wanted was to stay out shopping

love makes you laugh
cry
oh my, what a cliche’
rhythm and rhyme,
what a joke
when venting is best for the
pain
alas-
I’m ending this right
about
now.

Dad

Hey Dad
thought I’d write you a note
say thank you for the things you taught me
how to yell until you were blue in the face
when the electricity bill came
and you went around flicking switches off
mumbling under your breathe about the cost of things
and how money did not grow on trees
how the average working person
spent more than their forty hours in a steel box
with no windows
no overtime
no public holiday pay—
in summer sweat permeated every pore
and you couldn’t even stop for a drink
cause the boss stood over you
with whip in hand
and how lunch was a rushed fifteen minute stand up in
the middle of an unshaded smoke laced verandah—
soggy hand-cut white bread that Mum filled with last nights
gristly
congealed fat laden chunk of lamb
tomato and a slab of tasty cheese
every night you would come home exhausted
walk through the door and wait exactly five seconds
before we’d all run from our various posts and cuddle you
and you would wrestle us all to the floor covering our faces with kisses
until Mum would call us all to attention and berate you for
your smelly clothes
dirty hands and to—
not get grease all over my nice clean walls
but that was a long time ago
and things weren’t the same
after that day
that the sweat box closed
and you didn’t tell us for over a month
until things got that bad that you came home no longer smelling
of sweat, but
of single barrel malt whisky
and kisses soon became growls
and growls became
avoiding
you
and you us—
and Mum
no longer cared about clean walls
or wrestling
but about where the next pay check would come from
and what she would tell the family at Christmas time

Fragile stickers

Precious cargo—fragile sticker
sidestep me, don't cut me off
I'm waiting,
patiently,
can't you see.