California One: 2. The MOMA in SF, Hearst Castle and the Getty Center
We are standing in front of a group of giant ceramic pumpkins on the third floor of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. They …
Category: Memory Book
This is Not a Poem
“This is not poetry!”my son shoutsthe darkness of his eyesswimming in outrage Because I can’t just arrangewords on the pageto make pretty shapesthe words have …
In The Shadow of the Mountain
Amidst the gum trees on the mountain, a profound sense of solace envelops the soul. The crisp mountain air carries whispers of eucalyptus, creating a …
Mourning for Mallacoota
Dead trees rise from the hills like grey hairs on a bald man’s head,New leaves cling in clumps to straight black tree trunks,Wattles emerge under …
Jasmine
that first afternoonI feltthe disapproving glint in your eye—a flintsparkingfuture of rejection in innocenceI overlookedyour strength that grewlike water freezingto prise apartour defences from the …
Not Quite a Knight in Shining Armour (A true story)
The other day had a strange interruption to my normal work day at the local primary school. A child had decided to run off and …
Inheritance
All the men died, or lefton fields of blood and to distant shores. Heroes and angelshaunted newborn babies’ cries,bruised women’s tender hearts,left silent spaces unfilled and …
Time Heals Most Things
I was only 22.So young for that job.Started in it twelve months earlier. She had taken sleeping pills. Her on-again off-again had found her in …
My Six Day Old Daughter at a Wedding
It isn’t my weddingBut my heart is with anotherIt is not with me The bride had it, smiling, speaking with guestsbut she is now passing …
Umbrellas Speak for Themselves
I am put in mind of umbrellas because, as I write, there is a Singaporean gentleman wearing a white paper-mask and a long shirt embellished …