Playing with words: Archive

Black Saturday is

demon’s breath parching, searing, crisping grass stinging, slapping wind, beating us back with heat possums dropping dead out of trees birds gasping to cool down, backs to the wind lethargic dogs, panting in the shade absent cat the smell of eucalypt radio cackling out warnings brown stain moving across the horizon smoke acrid on the tongue conflagration — the fire’s...

Feb 11th

Fog is

Monday’s wedding veil discarded in wild abandon nature-obscura view atmospherics sleeping-in rally drivers headlight whiteboard magician’s sleight-of-hand explanation of her secrets the words we never say the morning after

Jul 2nd

Conversation is

street poetry sign language of like-minds assumptions, reading between lines a torch whiting out in the fog of subtext happy chatter of company — fortress against loneliness reminder we are not alone two dogs with tails wagging, recounting the odour of another dog humanity dragged into oneness human bytes not encoded for permanence breath of words hanging in the air

Jun 17th

Jun 14th

Apr 10th

Ringtail possum is

red eyes glinting in torchlight Toller yodelling catalyst night-time rustle of leaves after the wind has died shower of debris from above scurry of feet along the fence white C curl of tail mouse-like baby running up window flywire cat dreaming of lions, of the chase, of bringing the stag down elephants in the ceiling

Apr 10th

Westgate Bridge is

east meets west with the birds life-flattener/memorial to workmen — those below/those that rode the span down 1970 earth tremor in the making road arch, cathedral dreaming Melbourne’s answer to the coathanger (Sydney’s) traffic snarl/road rager’s snarl four lanes at a time clicketty click of cameras redlight zone (40 km/hr) for cars suicide point — diving board...

Apr 10th

Lamp is

focus in the darkness eye-constrictor cold masquerading as warmth nectar to human bees eye of Pixar interrogation illuminator homework helper electricity bill clicker overer sunlight made ephemeral

Feb 21st

Sorry is

word long overdue bipartisan jumper we wear over our hearts inclement politics herded into four letters acknowledgment of past atrocities sign of a man with integrity and courage reflection of my heart tear-catalyst promise floating on an exhaled breath buds on trees at long winter’s end kernal of hope

Feb 12th

Jan 29th

Caterpillar is

promise of change voracious stomach on stumpy legs diamond masked as charcoal chomping mouth, plant-nuker, resin-strong smell — bottled forest fragrance in organic receptacle fat juicy treat for sparrows smear of green grease on a driveway chrysalis-dreamer

Jan 29th

1 tag

Jan 12th

Screensaver is

electronic paradox: the thing that burnt an image into computer screen (yes, really!) tattletale on work that isn’t being done catalogue of interests (Maximus, Aragorn, Dr Who…) catalogue of who’s winning the battle between me and my kids (Aragorn/Dr Who) holiday viewing/homesickness relief/images of my children generic pipes growing/star trail/swirling colours — hypnotic,...

Jan 12th

Holiday mode is

slinking around the house in sleepwear all day being unchained to the clock/diary children in the house: noise, noise, noise languid reading on the couch, lolling a la Gatsby’s Daisy Buchanan sapping heat, flies, vigilance against mossies peeling sunburn in long thin strips dog-walking timetabled around temperature instead of around appointments time to dip into my own novel

Jan 6th

Christmas Day is

lion-sated stomachs chairs groaning older people donning party hats scorned by too-cool youngsters corny jokes in crackers slapped fingers over crackling remember-whens and what-about-the-time that parade of new toys soon to be abandoned children who never appear before midday up at dawn sleep-deprived Santas, bleary-eyed and grumpy all day

Dec 25th

Dec 24th

Last minute Christmas rush is

badge of the disorganised people massed like maggots eagle-eyes bargain hunting desperation writ across many faces clunk of bags, ping of cash registers, sweat and strain endless search for car parks always being in the wrong queue at the cash register — queue hopping, losing tinsel, people, piped carols, people, press of humanity, people colour and sound, scent of perfume, grumbles promise...

Dec 23rd

Dec 21st

Rain is

saliva for mouth of parched earth shuddering animal’s respite from heat fluid for farmers’ tears liquid life oozing into cracked ground suburban downpipe overfill causing gutter-waterfalls forgotten sound on an old tin roof summer swell of mosquitoes burst of green on curl-leaf trees reminder of years past

Dec 21st

Dec 8th

Missed opportunity is

spike in the side doom-doom-doom music source of family acrimony — bag full of blame shoulders swaddled in dark cloak raindrops into mud the precipice edge, crumbly rock, possibilities bifurcating road — one arm hidden in undergrowth, leading to ambrosia dipping croutons in the soup of regret

Dec 6th

Christmas is

Jewish friend hiding Christmas cards from the rabbi endless lines outside Myer’s windows Santas with sore knees hopeful children, exhausted parents checking and crosschecking Christmas card lists she didn’t send me one last year presents sequestered in a thousand hiding places a thousand hiding places discovered — surreptitious peeking, shaking, weighing too bountiful food and...

Dec 2nd

Commitment (to writing) is

chain around neck, fetters around ankles release from real-world responsibilities words on a page, word counts, more words, another word count Am I there yet? escape route from the mundane free pass to the circus end-of-day (or end-of-month) satisfaction the glory of having written tomorrow’s ball and chain, waiting

Nov 29th

End of year results are

proof of students: those who worked; those who didn’t farewells — luck wishes for jobs/higher ed an end, making way for new beginnings paper stacks, checking, cross-checking scribbles, numbers, grades — subjects/competencies nightmare on admin street headache/eye-strain end of year celebration the loom of holidays

Nov 11th

1 tag

Nov 9th

Footprints are

ephemera sometimes Pompeid to permanence mark of where I’ve tracked the world post-rain waterholes for small creatures indolent lakes for microbes man-was-here signposts nature defeats man reminders bonfires for trackers — one horse, lame on the near fore…

Nov 6th

Coastal walk is

deep sand littered by sheoak needles roar and hiss of surf, whitecaps all the way out to indigo waters rock pools with dried crab pincers, straggled seaweed and in my mind: thump of horses laughter fantasy characters at work/play my novel reravelling scene by scene two writers talking talking characters, plot, setting the weight of the sky wind-bite snaking...

Nov 6th

Nov 1st

Dark blog is

empty canvas waiting for inspiration promise of insight cattle-prod for curiosity bookmark to check on tomorrow, always tomorrow sign of: life becoming frantic (that’s my excuse!) writer becoming bored disillusioned user becoming modern-world dysfunctional: ...

Nov 1st

Writer's retreat is

promise of sanity of the long luxuriating in words fellow wordsmiths journeying together the soak of atmosphere — total immersal change of writing circumstances unstopping of a rubber bung from a test-tube of words thrill of escape — danger of never wanting to return to normality

Oct 12th

Holiday snaps are

memories inked into gloss/satin/matte heat shimmer before the horizon taste of chlorine sunsnap-dry hair scent of baked eucalypt glimmer of conversation over the rub rub rub of tyre on highway suck of Murray River silt between toes — closed-eye plunge into darkness cold-shocked gasping surface into heat

Oct 6th

Oct 5th

Bored son is

anathema to peace rudeness when I’m on the telephone a clinging that drives me crazy slow build of my ire (no, all right, rapid acceleration, not slow build) trouble looking for a home a destructive wind blowing through the house

Sep 30th

School holidays are

sleep ins outings forays into new activities film-watching, reading, catching up with friends sanity-preservers dip in the stress rollercoaster daytrips latenights assignments, homework — people in procrastination mode f-u-n a crystalline drop — best water in the pond and, sometimes, a mouth craving the familiar taste of silt

Sep 29th

Sep 24th

Daughter away is

stormy seas calmed to pond stillness eye of the hurricane — pouch of quiet son being more clingy, wanting more attention phone calls — her voice, warm with affection rarely expressed at home everyone wanting to talk to her, to hear her news house devoid of shouting room still not thumping with dancing/music surprise revelation — I’m missing her

Sep 22nd

Friends' blogs are

little pockets of warm in a late-night, cold lounge room essential reading — even more compulsive than email summaries, snapshots, a quicksilvered world new windows into old friends reading pleasure and pain photograph of one mind in time lessons in life, in humanity snippets of lives, spun into word blankets

Sep 19th

Photographer's eye is

balancing the angles of the world — tilting/framing/searching watcher of clouds archway lover focus finder truth inventer moment keeper image squirreller art maker illusionist with light and shadow whisperer of reflectance lore (18% mutterer) colour temperature assessor — white balance de-/obsersver evanescence concreter on computer and film

Sep 17th

Sep 13th

Poetry acceptance is

the YES! moment the scratch-my-head moment (which poem was that?) a cake owing to my writing group reminder of the rewards of sending work out validation from a fellow poet promise of publication: magazine in hand or online editorial eye scanning my words for mistakes shoe on the other foot!

Sep 13th

Time wasted is

drops of water, leaking from a tap screwed-up paper, filling a waste bin snippets of cloth — offcuts, discarded and useless food scraps that could have composted to loam moments of a missed touch, undelivered praise incoming tide, erasing footprints never made out-of-focus photograph or a camera left behind opportunity lost

Sep 12th

Training course is

opportunity to explore — new architecture windows emblazoned with “births, deaths & marriages” underground dungeon — three storeys high lunch in the “judges’ room” room without “real” light, fake air (humidified, cleaned, piped) battlements buttressing windows drone of voice, crash of computer — getting left behind sunlight in...

Sep 11th

Broken sleep is

cursings and mutterings at three am rustle of sheets, thump of mattress clock watching through an interminable night warm but restless comfort active brain but tired body/eyes relationship anathema irony in action: the harder you try the more remote the goal

Sep 8th

Gibraltar monkeys are

old world meets new tourist-snapshot magnet Spain versus England personified zoo politics on the street legacy of the past given modern standing bane of one people; boon of another snatch of peanuts shriek of excitement scamper up a wall the gambol of freedom that humans can only dream about yellow eyes, bright and interested, cheeky and dangerous

Sep 7th

Sep 6th

Sky is

an image of now ephemera stretched across a big canvas mood-setter love-letter to the wind dresser of the sea images chasing each other between horizons mapper of celestial bodies photographer’s dream/bane sailor’s & shepherd’s portent

Sep 6th

Wind is

hurry scurry flurry lift of leaves, swirl of sticks the sky breathing moon’s exhalation the wild debris dance skitter skatter smatter splatter smash of glass wrench of roof uproot of tree scent of wet grass lifting — fingers stroking noses tangle of hair, genuflection of grasses

Sep 2nd

Artwork is

inspired ravings of the creatively minded beauty captured in one- two- or three-dimensions ephemera nuked into permanence wall adornments for critics to cluck over brain-blood, finger-sweat, heart-angst slip and splodge and smack of colour absence of the ordinary

Aug 31st