{"id":1618,"date":"2022-07-05T16:19:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T06:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=1618"},"modified":"2022-08-03T17:00:28","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T07:00:28","slug":"no-not-this-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=1618","title":{"rendered":"No. Not this time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was asked today
if I could do something
That I\u2019ve done before.
Nothing difficult.
At least, it wasn\u2019t last time.
Just mingle with a crowd,
All in costume,
Taking photos.
Making the organisers proud
By recording their 
Event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d be paid in attendance,
And with a meal.
And asked for all my photos
For their permanent record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I last did this
Maybe a decade ago.
I was younger then,
Less aches and pains,
A quieter head, 
And without the black dog
Nipping at my heels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did seriously entertain the prospect.
Even checked my calendar
To see if I had the night free.
Of course it was free, 
I do nothing anymore,
But hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time I had a lot of fun.
But I remember too,
The press of bodies,
The difficulty being heard,
The stress
Of trying to get everything
Just right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decade on
Things don\u2019t work as well as
They once did.
Not the body.
Not the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much as I want
To be that good friend
Who can help out
When she\u2019s needed,
The screaming inside my head
Says,
No.
Not this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you love reading Morte Oakley’s works? For more, visit here; https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?author=6<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read about the benefits to being an introvert, visit here; https:\/\/time.com\/5373403\/surprising-benefits-introvert\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was asked todayif I could do somethingThat I\u2019ve done before.Nothing difficult.At least, it wasn\u2019t last time.Just mingle with a crowd,All in costume,Taking photos.Making the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[24,8,21,10],"class_list":["post-1618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry","tag-morte-oakley","tag-mountain-ash-chapter","tag-poetry","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sasha-matveeva-zwH_LqCzTEY-unsplash-scaled-e1657001864202.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-q6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4257,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4257","url_meta":{"origin":1618,"position":0},"title":"This is Not a Poem","author":"Elissa McKay","date":"March 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThis is not poetry!\u201dmy son shoutsthe darkness of his eyesswimming in outrage Because I can\u2019t just arrangewords on the pageto make pretty shapesthe words have to mean somethingor rhyme (rhyme can stand infor meaning) poetry has tobe profound More meaningful thanthe long clean lines of armand leg, his straight nose,his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Memory Book"","block_context":{"text":"Memory Book","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=120"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/rachael-crowe-jK8JZGgBtHM-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2909,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2909","url_meta":{"origin":1618,"position":1},"title":"This Is Not Our Time","author":"Teresa Lawler","date":"November 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd rather endureall of the sadnessthan remain Unknowing.Bring me back,hold me. 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