Under the cold clean waves
in the emerald green quiet
where you only hear thoughts
and light is a lively ballerina
refracting and diffusing
casting patterns on the seabed
when you break the surface
and your ears fill with noise
even in the world chaotic
you always emerge renewed
Yes
you were tethered to this place
strong chains bound you here and
people stopped to point and mock
but we all of us have our shackles
so when you made that final pull
and ripped them sharply away
did you have to leave such a deep scar?
such a chasm in our world
when you flew away and left us
with our chains’ weight doubled
Did you?
Watch it
as it gradually forms
there the corner of your eye
and sparkling slowly grows from nothing
then tumbles down your cheek
a little bead of silver
follow as it cascades
off your chin
watch it
Do not writhe away from it
or resist and push against it
Do not mock it in fright
or recoil or fight it
Do not pretend it’s painful
or spit in the face of it
It is yours…
Take it gently by the hand
but make your grip firm
Look it straight in the eye
and make peace with it
Embrace it and most importantly
relax in to its warm sanctuary
It is yours…
It started in that tipping point
before the hour of midnight
as I wandered from the first bar
and went searching for the next
After vacating the theatre
I had met a group of actors
but they couldn’t last the distance
so I set out on my own
And the pots of beer were flowing
all the different shades of amber
the patrons ply their chatter
I make eyes across the bar
With my signals not receiving
I decide to venture onwards
so take up my leather jacket and
make a beeline for the door
As suburb dwellers scrambled
for the last train home til morning
I encountered fellow travellers
outside some dim-lit crowded dive
When they asked where I was going
made a comment on my fashion
appreciate the rock-star t-shirt
you must linger one bar more
In the cigarette smoke fog screen
we establish they are German
produce a beaten old guitar and
make our way up from the hum
As we stumble down La Trobe street
filled with liquor and good feelings
we busk Beatles, Pop and Bowie
passers by break in to dance
We exchange a farewell embrace
at the steps to their dark hostel
as I see the creeping sunrise
light the park near my hotel
I’d have liked to keep on singing
but the sheets and blankets comfort
and instead I slip to sleep while
the clock hands signal day
And just like my fleeting dreamscape
my great musical career
dissipates in to the memories
of the drunken concert band
Gather everything you own
and stack it against the door
barricade yourself from all
the creeping uncertainty
Then shred your finest linens
and block all crack and crevice
seal your world up tightly
from the poisoned air outside
Paint the glass with black tar pitch
it stings the eyes and lungs but
obscures your chamber nicely
against the harsh light of day
Like the pilgrim Dante found
you’ve made your home your gallows
and in that isolation
you resist the winds of change
People say that it’s outdated
a quaint archaism extinct
I take delight every word
my pen reveals in deep blue ink
When the envelope delivered
a wad of pages then unfurled
enter now the deep enchantment
from a dear friend across the world
Mister Swan your countenance
is well known to this author but
each time I go to write about it
your blue eyes disappear
Mister Swan your exploits are
the stuff of dreams that I have dreamt but
each time I set my pen to paper
the ink won’t seem to flow
If we stay here much longer
our bare feet will take root
in this dark sacred earth
and we will never leave it
While soft sands have cradled us
and teal green oceans cleansed
there are other shorelines
there are more horizons yet
If we stay here much longer
our arms turn to branches
in this clean fragrant air
and we will never leave it
While fresh rivers carried us
and green pastures nurtured
there are many more streets
there are more expanses yet
If we stay here much longer
our eyes will become stars
in this breathtaking sky
and we will never leave it
Warm wet air condenses on the
black cold panes of windows and
outside it is dark and frigid but
I still fill my glass with ice
LVX CREARE 