Not alone

I sat down near the lake
And watched the geese swim by
I caught a glimpse of someone watching
Out the corner of my eye
But they slipped into the shadows
Back from whence they came
I thought saw the blur of wings
And heard the whisper of my name
I watched the ripples widen
Across the reflection of my face
And I caught a shred of memory
From other time and place
I know that someone’s watching me
In case I trip and fall
I know someone will hear me
If only I should call

Random Acts of Kindness

Thank you
To the lady who lent me 50c to get out of the parking
To the gentleman who held the door for me this morning
To the man in the car who said “Bless you” when I sneezed
To the guys in the truck who sang along with me to Guns and Roses
To the taxi driver who let me in front of him when I was in the wrong lane
To the teller who smiled when she wished me a good day
To the car guard who remembered my children’s names
To the little girl who said she liked my dress
To all the people I do not know who touch my life
With random acts of kindness

Digital backlash

I hate digital technology
The lie that it makes my life easier
What it does is allow a violation of personal space
There is nowhere to go to escape the incessant clamour
In sheer desperation I turn it off
To steal a moment or two of peace
But the backlash of animosity
That I would have the audacity
To want to escape the grid
Drives me to my knees
Living the pages of a post-apocalyptic 80s novella
Lost the plot
Is there anywhere left untainted?
If so, take me there
And leave me
In peace
And quiet

Monday

I’m tired of quiet platitudes
Egos and unearned attitudes
Swallowing the things I want to say
Gives me indigestion first thing in the day

I want to laugh too loudly for small spaces
And put Fred and Ginger through their paces
I want a fuck off bunch of flowers with a note
And something big and sparkly to hang around my throat

Right now I’d just settle for a Styvie
And very hot sweet cup of tea
I'll eat the chocolate bar I bought on a whim
And use full cream milk and not low fat skim

Sacrificial lamb

A web of lies so fragile
That binds you to the cross
A sacrifice of honesty
To the faith you went and lost

The spinning of a safety net
As elaborate as fine lace
Your creation turned upon you
And lashed your arms in place

A single word of truth
Would all the ties unbind
But do you have the courage
To lay it on the line?

Stumble

Ever stumbled on the path

On a stone so insignificant

That it might have been a speck of dust

Only to find the very foundation of your world shaken

And the ground ripped from beneath your feet

For a second you feel you're flying

Then the earth comes up to meet you

And you lie bruised and battered

Your pride broken

And your blood staining

The sand beneath your fingers

As they grasp for some purchase

Some promise

That things will be okay

That you will stand up

And keep on walking

Excretia

Shit

Is not a swear word

When it's running in a river

Through your yard

Shit

Is not expletive

But excretive

When your neighbour's turd

Floats quietly by the window

Shit

Does not describe

The unholy stench

That permeates the air

Shit

Is what the plumber can do

When it's not his problem

And shit

Is what the council will do

To fix it

Happy ever after

Crazy though it seems

Things fall apart at the seams

I want a wonderland

With toffee apple trees

And the scent of cookies baking

Wafting on the breeze

I want a fairytale

With rainbow coloured wings

And sip the dew from bluebells

In a magic mushroom ring

I want a happy ever after

Is that too damn much to ask?

Fatigue

God I’m tired
Off balance
The dream world more real
Than the waking
A surreal state of being
Marking time amongst living
Paying penance for some long forgotten crime
Sentenced to life
No chance of parole
By a jury of peers
And the one who would free me
Angel or executioner?

Surrender

Empty promises ring clear
Like a crystal goblet song
In my error I believed them
And got it all so very wrong
Floored by fatigue
Is it worth the pain
Of holding together
Shattered pieces of a dream?
If I let them fall unhindered to the floor
Someone else could clean it up
The onus mine no more
I could stop the frantic kicking
To keep my head above the waves
And let the tide carry me gently gently far away

Panic

Ravens caged within my breast
They beat their wings against the bars
Flailing beaks and razor talons
Tear tender flesh apart
I watch from a distance
As the blood drips to the floor
A crimson tide of retribution
That stains the white sand of the shore

Lucy

I’m liaising with a lady named Lucy Xu (rhymes with shoe)
She’s in Shanghai, that much is true
She says she spleak no English, I spleak no Mandarin
What remains of my patience is wearing thin
If I had a pair of chopsticks I stick them up her nose
Its inevitable we will come to blows
The bitch speaks English as well as I
This whole language barrier is a total lie
To disguise the fact she’s done sweet bugger all
And I’m the patsy who will take the fall

Migraine

Shattered shards of glass
Pierce the veil
The searing point of puncture
Where words fail