A writer's life

He sits at an old chipped desk-
A many-splendered coloured desk
Meridian time
Yet he works tirelessly
Sweaty
Airless
The fan in the corner remains still
His mind overloaded works fast
His fingers are not
Pencil blunt he digs harder onto the paper
Indentation of yesterday's words
And those of the day before
He poises mid thought
Parched
After this page he'll get himself a glass of water
Maybe make himself a sandwich
He's sure there's a roast in the fridge
Perhaps even some Swiss cheese-
He continues to write
The page flows into another
And then into another
The witching hour-
He lights his desk lamp
Poises
Parched-
He'll stop at the next page
Surely

A true love story

She was old
But he was older-
Speckled flecks
Peppered grey-
Lines
Story lines he liked to call them
But no one ever had the time to listen
Just her-
Heard them all a million times before
She still laughed when the funny bits came-
Still wiped the tears when it all got to much
She was sick-
He sicker
He'd nurse her nights when her temperature rose
She'd hold his hand when the pain got too much too bear
They lived alone-
Kids forgot
They tried
Never gave up-
Though never talked about it
She was old
He was older-
And when she went
He soon followed

Requited

This is how it goes-
One day
There was a man who fell in love
But she loved another
And so it went for years and years-
He never stopped pining
He never married-
Wished her a long and happy life at her wedding
Then drowned his sorrows when no one watched
Bid her good morning every day
And gave his condolences the day her husband passed-
Silently smiling
It was time
She welcomed him the first time-
He bought flowers for her the second
Asked him to stay for dinner the third
And by the fifth she realised-
She loved him-
Asked him to stay the sixth, the seventh-
And for every day after
This is how it goes...

I'm a big girl now

I'm not afraid of anything
Thanks to you
Not anymore
Not of the dark
Not of the unknown
Or of the bogey man-
You were my bogey man
A nightmare come true
Brought me to my knees
Made me weak
Until I had nothing left
But that girl's gone-
She left the other night
Woke up to someone new
I saw her in the mirror
She looked the same-
But not really
I'm not holding anyone's hand
Or sleeping with a night light
Rosary beads
Garlic
Or teddy bear
I'm a big girl now-
I'm not afraid
Cause
I say so

A solitary army

And what of it-
So I can't change the world
But I can change my role in it
I can take what's in my hands and mould it
Care for it and make it something worthwhile
Put it back into the world and be proud
So, I can't change someone's life
But I can do something unexpected
Unplanned and nice-
Make them smile, even if only for a while
No, I can't heal the sick
Though I can lend them a hand and show them that I care
No, I can't perform miracles but I can surprise someone with one act of kindness-
What of it
I can't do many things
But I sure can try to do something

Bound by shackles

My father once told me-
Treat all people fairly
Though, the ones that I say so
Treat even more fairly
I was young
Not entirely sure of what this meant
My father said
You can't treat people rudely-
It's not nice,
Except of course-
The old man with no teeth
He's not from around here and well, I just don't trust him-
Okay, Papa
My father was a fair man
He'd share the tobacco he grew in the paddocks with all the men that helped worked our land-
They'd drink and smoke until the sun went down-
Laughing
And the next morning if they didn't show up in time for work, he'd send them on a holiday-
They obviously needed one, my father would say
We'd never see them again-
My father was a fair man
Though when they came with shackles to take him away-
He went quietly

Dromana shore

He walks the sand alone-
Stops suddenly, stoops every so often
A gem-
Older than time itself
Battered by water, sand and weather
But still a beauty
A house long outgrown-
Grey, pearl-like
He walks some more
Flicks his toe
Not any will do
It has to be just right
This one shaped like a fan
Rust, copper a hint of white
Nature in its finest moment