This morning’s wattlebird carried a question across the sky — a fleeting shimmer of light and wonder. Inspired by that moment, I found myself chasing the same golden touch through words and image, letting the Dream’s warmth echo the poem’s quiet hope.
Will I Be the One? (a Tanka)
There’s a wattlebird Flying past the golden sun And then I wondered Who will be the chosen one to receive the Midas touch?
And as the wattlebird slips past the golden sun, this song carries the same gentle light forward.
It was “our” 50th Anniversary yesterday, the 10th of September. Whispering Flowers was written back in early 2019, during my recovery from two strokes — a time when every small journey felt tender and deliberate. Today, the flowers have been delivered, and we’ve spent the afternoon in the sunshine, sharing an anniversary lunch at the café and a glass of red, letting the memories settle gently around us.
Whispering Flowers (Tullawalla, page 41)
Carole and I, 45 years ago, before her MS developed.
At the cemetery with flowers for Carole, and then to the Cafe for lunch and a toast to Carole.
Whispering Flowers (Revised)
I went shopping this morning, To buy her flowers For our anniversary day.
A bus trip to the local florist, then I boarded another bus to the cemetery — my first time on a bus carrying flowers.
Bouquet in hand, on I hopped, You could’ve heard a pin drop.
Over the silence, I heard solemn whispers. The men on the bus courteously nodded, And the ladies knowingly smiled.
Gratified, I dipped my cap in acknowledgement. Then I started to sense the day’s emotions arise, and with my honesty glowing, I felt proudly special.
And as Scarborough Fair drifts through the afternoon light, I carry her memory faithfully, where flowers and remembrance quietly meet.
Fifty years feels both distant and close, a milestone carried quietly through my days. Some memories soften, some sharpen, but one truth remains — I still see her in the small moments, in the quiet spaces, in the light that lingers. Today, I honour that presence the only way I know how: with a few simple lines.
I See You Now, Fifty Years, Today
A day I celebrate every day — every day, walking my narrow path, I see you now. Every day, looking into our misty mirror, I see you now.
Fifty years, today — every night, in my dreams, I see you now. Every night, in the stars. I see you now.
I am here, you are where you are. One day, my dear, I’ll join you in the stars.
A song that echoes the way I still see her — in dreams, in stars, in the quiet of today.
Fifty years arrives like a soft, golden hush — a moment where memory steps forward, hand in hand with the present. As tomorrow’s anniversary draws near, I found myself looking toward the sky, letting its warm light guide me back through the years. This Tanka is the quiet breath before the day itself, a small reflection of the love still shimmering in every sunset.
Tomorrow’s Our 50th Anniversary (a Tanka)
Sunset’s pure-gold sky And I’m inwardly smiling. She’s flamboyantly channeling me — a bright clue: tomorrow’s our golden day.
And tomorrow, as the golden sky leans close, her light will rise through me once more.
I nearly deleted this photo — a pole in the way, a couple of wires cluttering the frame — until the birds decided to rescue it. They swooped in, sketched their own storyline across the sky, and left me wondering who was really directing the scene. While they painted truth up there, I stayed down here trying to catch whatever tale fluttered past. This little poem followed soon after, curious, a bit cheeky, and happily poles apart.
Poles Apart
We’re poles apart before we even start. You guys up there, me down here — I don’t know where.
Truth flutters freely in the air. Meanwhile, down here, fiction is both oblong and square.
Wise cracks don’t need stairs. Poetic knack has dare and flair, and down here storybooks fly anywhere without a compere, traveling from deckchair to airchair.
And as the birds drift off into their own truth, this tune keeps the sky talking.
Twelve months ago, while visiting my cousins on Vancouver Island, I tapped out a small poem on my iPhone — a moment shaped by cedar shadows, cold tides, and old family echoes. Today’s Throwback Friday returns to that quiet day, and to the fallen ancestors the island seemed to remember.
Fallen Ancestors
Above I saw time drift across the sky.
Below I heard a grey, waterlogged tree cry, “Is this the graveyard where my fallen ancestors have been left to die?”
There “Against the sea wall’s merciless granite crown, surrounded by cold water crashing around…
Please “Take my hand, guide me down, so I can cover them with my green nightgown.”
A quiet echo of the sea’s old memory — as the tide carries its stories forward, this song keeps a heart in the water.
In the soft glow of a haloed sun, a seagull and his friends traced a tale across the sky — and one of them decided to share a little wisdom as he climbed into the light, shaping today’s poem.
Cyril the Seagull
Cyril is no ordinary seagull, he’s neither plain nor dull.
I’ve been watching him and his friends, soaring through the clouds’ sunny trends.
When he swooped in close enough, I asked him off-the-cuff:
“Why are you considered to be so commonly homespun?” He puffed his wings like a bumblebee and proudly flew off toward the sun.
Cyril whispered as he climbed: Like humans, we also populate the world However, I’m free to fly and enjoy nature’s phoenix sky uncurled.
And as Cyril lifts into the light, this timeless song rises with him — a quiet reminder to simply be.
Just before midnight, I wandered through Nancy’s whimsical corner of The Elephant’s Trunk, where her poetic mischief nudged me over the fence of common sense. In that soft hour, a playful spark took hold — and this anecdotal poem tumbled out as my midnight excuse. For Nancy >> Poet’s Excuse – The Elephant’s Trunk
And because midnight rarely behaves itself, here’s Nick Cave’s “Night Raid” slipping in with its dark velvet mood before the poem leaps the fence again.
There Are No ‘Cents’ in Pretense
None of it needs to make sense no matter present tense or past tense
Your quill has a license to leap the pretense fence — forget about common sense
And write delicious nonsense in future tense with imaginative effulgence
And to round out this midnight ramble, here’s the song I shared with Nancy — Leonard Cohen’s wonderfully unusual “Ballad of the Absent Mare,” a wandering little masterpiece that trots alongside any poet willing to leap the fence of pretense.
