In the quiet defiance of blackbirds slicing through the wind, I found a mirror to our own fractured grace. This poem, paired with The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” reflects on the quiet unity of nature and the turbulent state of mankind.
A Wayward Wind
The black birds’ little wings cut neatly into the wind, sharper than a bee’s sting – and resiliently, they grin, despite nature’s wayward whirlwind.
The little birds’ stay combined, unlike the lands’ irrational mankind, who become violent and unrefined when they are in an unkind bind.
Yesterday, while we were walking along the banks of the Barwon River, we passed under the historic Queens Park Bridge, so today’s Throwback Friday poem is quite appropriate; originally written in September 2021.
Lights Above Bridges (Revise)
Bridges span our invisible years And carry our forgotten tears Crossing over old hidden fears
Bridges are burnt over time Years turn to ashes in an instant And time is our only constant
Beyond the longest bridges Under the ocean’s bluest seas And above nature’s greenest hues Love’s pulsating Aurora nights renew
Acrux rises over the opal sea—its light, my inheritance.
In the hush of night, beneath the Southern Cross, I find myself wondering how far starlight travels—and why it feels so familiar. This poem is a reflection on cosmic legacy, distance, and the quiet claim we make on eternity.
Celestial Birthright
Tonight, there above the horizon’s dark blue oceans, deep in the black opal sky, I see the bright Acrux Star.
Then I wonder: how far away is a million light-years from today? And why is the star’s infinite light eternally my birthright.
Music/Video:The final 3 minutes of “Sea of Stars” – 10-hour, ambient space music
Wandering down the winding road, Chattering to the friendly birds– Fluttering quietly nearby, Waiting patiently for their replies.
Wondering, do they understand why flying freely in the sky transcends crawling around on contaminated ground.
Lindsey Stirling’s “Song of the Caged Bird” is more than just a haunting violin piece; it’s a visual and emotional journey inspired by Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Stirling imagined a bird gazing longingly from its cage, yearning to soar like the others. Though it cannot escape, it finds joy in sharing its song, lighting up the world around it. Stirling writes: “Oftentimes, we can’t control our circumstances. However, it’s up to us to determine how we will respond to them. We all have a voice to find and a gift to share.”
Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Before, Between, and Beyond”is in this week’s edition. The full title in my ‘Office Documents’ is “Before, Between, and Beyond (or, Under a Cloud, to Beyond Cloud Nine),” but that was too long for the Magazine. To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article. >> https://coffeehousewriters.com/before-between-and-beyond/
Daylight Saving steals an hour, but where does it go? This poem wonders aloud, with a wink and a sigh, as time slips overboard. Paired with Tame Impala’s hypnotic rhythm, it’s a meditation on the absurdity of lost time.
“Man Overboard!”
Time vanished overboard, and was last seen going forward.
Who will rescue the lost hour? Who has the righteous power, inside the clock’s stoic tower?
Somehow it doesn’t matter that no one heard the clatter.
Time has no protective hands. Time is not a rubber band, nor a loose grain of sand.
I do not understand how time’s forgotten hour was banned and stored away in never-never-land.
Over on Weekly Prompts, the monthly colour challenge this weekend is Orange. To visit their fabulous site, please click ... Here. The centre of my new Energy Flow dreamer catcher is Orange.
My old original Man-del-la shield, which was a gift from my Canadian Uncle many years ago, hangs under my courtyard verandah.
“Found at the top of the Skytram Lift, Whistlers Mountain—handcrafted echoes of the alpine spirit.”
My Energy Flow dream catcher, which now hangs on my lounge room bookcase.
And the Vision Seeker dream catcher hangs up on my writing desk
Dream Catchers
With nimble fingers and warm hearts, the Man-del-la was crafted for me— or someone much like me. A symbolic shield to protect, to bring good health and prosperity.
My Energy Flow dream catcher, with its unique, handcrafted design, reveals the scattering of energy being drawn back to its source— strengthening my spiritual self.
The Vision Seeker dream catcher captures bad dreams in its web, allowing the good ones to pass through. The quartz stone at its centre helps remove negative thoughts and enhances spiritual communication and guidance.
Featured Image Above: ‘Weird/Wonderful’, a painting by Geelong Artist Wendy Ratawa.
Today’s Throwback Friday poem, written in December 2022, was inspired by a Geelong Writers Inc. Ekphrastic Photo Prompt (see above image)
Standing On the Edge of Time
Am I dreaming Sprawled across Saturn’s rainbow rings Wishing I was there On the edge of Jupiter’s Multicoloured volcanoes Observing the chromatic universe Through my kaleidoscopic eyes
I am here Standing on the edge of time Above Tower Hill’s dormant crater Overlooking a picturesque valley Of blue lakes and Multicoloured forests
The title of my new booklet, “Home Away From Home”, mainly consists of poems from my amazing holiday to Canada, ‘Before, During, and After.
FREE PDF COPY >>> Links Below
Hello, dear readers and followers. As you may know, I stopped producing my “Tullawalla Booklets” at #31 because that was the house number of our family’s Tullawalla Homestead. However, the booklet format is a superb way for me to catalogue the vast number of poems I produce, and as the saying goes, “I Am Turning Another Page”. Here I have begun a new series of poem booklets, called “Shangri La”, the name of my little Villa, and it is my piece of “earthly paradise, a retreat from the pressures of modern civilization”. I now have “2141” Poems filed in these booklet formats!! (On my bookshelf, I have “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, which contains 1775 poems … when I first started writing poems, I never envisaged that I would produce so many poems)
Click on >>Here, for the link to your FREE: PDF Copy of“Shangri La, Volume 16, Home Away From Home”
“A gentle landing after an adventurous voyage—my Itmims returns from Canada.”
Dream On
From above and beyond the clouds, I eventually floated down to the ground, Softly landing among the bemused crowd — They were both startled and spellbound.
That my ancient Itmims* spacecraft Had negotiated the vast Pacific Ocean, Like ‘Thor Heyerdahl‘s Kon Tiki’ raft…
Despite the wilderness’s rocky passage, And my damaged undercarriage.
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 