Remember when I used to write poetry? I am looking forward to visiting the National Folk Festival in Canberra this Easter. It’s been six years since I last attended. Makes me feel all nostalgic and poetic. Here’s a repeat of a poem from my early, hopeful days in this place.
The Womb. The GREAT MOTHER. The jewel in the crown. This place. Our world. Read more
Here I am. A poem for a new day.
After much silence
The twitteratee twitter.
Is this my good side?
Perhaps I am anxious. The longer I stay away from this place, the harder it is to make an appearance. Start with something you love is good advice. Who doesn’t love little birds?
🙂
Take care, everyone.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
A late entry for Patti’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Empty Space. I think the emphasis is on negative space in the photo below. Close enough. Naturally, this photo was taken by my True Love.
Into the Empty
Seeking the apex of all that life has to offer.
A chance to thrive, a chance to fall.
Thunder beats a primal rhythm.
Stretch your wings and ride the wild sky.
The queen ants fly into the wide blue yonder.
Take care, everyone.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
A lament.
For some, there is no tomorrow.
There is only today – neither grand, nor fine.
The light is cruel so close your eyes
and then, in the day’s fading, sleep
while the bombs rain down.
Comments are turned off.
It is not every day that I attend a habitat restoration workshop and am asked to question my underlying (culturally ingrained) motives. If I am truthful with myself, I acknowledge that I have a tendency to doggedly focus on bending country to my will – my timeframe and ideal of restoration – rather than drawing on the strengths of the land to heal itself with gentle and compassionate assistance. So I wrote a poem about that. Then it turned into a poem about the forthcoming referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution. Nevertheless, whether it be about my novice landcare experiences or about the Voice, I wouldn’t change a word.
I dedicate this poem to the First Peoples of Australia who have put themselves on the line to ask their fellow Australians to support their call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Many indigenous Australians believe that this is the best way of being heard on issues that affect their lives. (See Uluru Statement From The Heart.) Let’s call it an invitation to a better future.
Listen With Our Hearts
There may never be the perfect time or perfect place.
There may never be a more special time or place
to acknowledge you.
Consider the options.
I rail against your stubborn persistence; your resistance to me and
my well intended or misguided ministrations;
my colonial attitude – bossy and entitled.
Must I fail before I can embrace your song?
I question.
Can I truly love you if I cannot love all your imperfections,
my compassion conditional,
heart filled with suspicion and doubt?
This is not a battle with self that I can win alone. But I, we, have you –
Your Voice
to heal the gap between us, for the good of constitution and country,
so that we may love all with compassion.
We connect
in quietude, mirth and fury.
Your strength, my strength
when I make a choice.
To see You. To hear You and to listen.
It’s time.
As the old saying goes, “Perfection is the enemy of the good.” If we hear one another, then we can aim for better. At least that is my personal opinion. You may have another. However, I can’t help thinking “if you don’t know, vote no” is just very bad poetry. I’ve included some links below for those who would like more information.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
Further information:
Official resources on the Referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
Uluru Statement From The Heart and the Referendum Council Report
First Nations Voice, Australian Public Law Blog
The following is sourced from voice.gov.au
The Referendum Question –
On referendum day, voters will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a single question.
The question on the ballot paper will be:
“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
Constitutional Amendment –
The proposed law that Australians are being asked to approve at the referendum would insert the following lines into the Constitution:
“Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:
A Poem –
Frisk
feels me up, pats me down
we run together
hair streaming
when the wind goes supernova
hurling leaves like exploding stars
through the dove grey coloured sky
A poem and an Australian native plant photo.
The Bluffer
Is a nondescript plant unworthy of the lingering gaze?
Must the ugly duckling metamorphise
into that beautiful swan? Does a light shine
with none to see it, invisible when eyes are closed?
The winter woodland keeps its secrets. Echo
chambers climb from forest floor until – tendril –
summer’s fertile heat provides the desiccant,
the bluffer and ephemera of nature’s final call.
I read a recent disparaging comment about the lovely Australian native climber, Clematis microphylla. Perhaps you are yet to discover it or if you have, perhaps you have been underwhelmed? Be patient, dear Readers, and look again.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
A part of our small, grassy-woodland urban park is being allowed to regenerate. For the humans participating in the project, this mostly involves assiduous weeding and a small amount of replanting, but most of the hard work is being done by the land itself. The birds and other wild creatures (ie. two skinks and some butterflies) are embracing the changes.
I like my spear grasses straight off the plant.
From paddock to plate –
Fast food –
So fresh, so nutritious, so grand.
This is my place. This is my home.
From this watchtower, I behold you on your knees,
creating a space for us to live together and apart.
My retreat from mankind’s constant intrusions.
Peace and quiet, ladies and gentlemen, peace and quiet.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
I just happened to have a couple of motion shots that I haven’t published and one that I have. Only three photos, so I thought I would slip in a poem or three. Enjoy.
Strong is mother’s instinct to provide.
Strong is the instinct to survive.
Run along, hungry bird.
Run to mummy.
Showers came in repeated waves
in front of frigid wind.
On the pinnacle, leaves jostled
for attention, but no one saw or heard.
The air shimmers with your power.
The future is green energy.
It won’t hurt you.
Patti, who is back from her holiday, is hosting the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week. The theme for the challenge is Motion. Click on the link here to view Patti’s wonderfully creative photos and to discover how other Lens Artists have interpreted this theme.
Take care, everyone.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
Quick question. Is it acceptable to mix my tenses as I did in that second poem? Okay, I fixed it because it bothered me but it lacks something now. It will do.
Reprise from August 2019 – the start of the fires on the east coast of Australia that traumatised a nation.
I don’t know why my husband and I felt compelled to stop at the old cemetery on that blustery day. We certainly didn’t go there to take photos. So maybe it was intuition, a guiding hand. The power of the robin. He. Red-capped robin. Read more
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 