I saw her from a distance
Her evident difference
alarmed me for a moment
My eyes hidden behind glasses
made split second assessments
My confusion in this place of fitting in
was considerable, unknown to me

I saw in her hand the cigarette burning
Her fat perfectly rounded belly held
and wrapped in red flowering
frilly and flowing dress
It was hiked up at the front
showing pudgy white blotchy skin
the time for babies was long behind her
We moved closer toward each other

Her difference and indifference grew
I noticed her saunter with unstable gait
Her long dried out died blond hair
Her own attempt at glamour stood out
The mismatched colours, the loose layers
and the string of large yellow beads
wrapped around her goitre throat
Her eyes gazing downwards
We were going to pass soon
I knew she was different

It was surprising and unexpected in this place so the same
I was unprepared in those seconds left to pass
Thoughts and feeling arose and changed
Those thoughts and feelings are mine to question

"Good morning"

And on the wind the smell of old cheap perfume
and cigarette smoke, delicious
Reminding me of who I was before
Of a far away time brought to mind
by that perfect mix of smoky chemicals
a place with happy memories
a place I longed to return to
my youth

I was left with a realisation
Our desire can lead us down a one way path
This one dimension forbidding alternatives
Designating an end point
A reminder not to forget who you were, is who you are now
Made from pasts both good and bad
To celebrate our differences

Stand me still in swaying grass
on the crest of a smooth esker.
Numb my ears to synthetic noise
so I can embrace the earthly chorus;
Green blades clashing swordlike.
The creak of trees, rooted in the battle.
The flip and twist of a passing bluebottle;
Awkward and disorientated.
Let me breathe deep the same wind
that lends herself to these instruments.
Let me hear the crackle of sun on skin;
The sound of hair electrified,
The thud of chemicals leaping across synapses.

Let me feel truly alive.

Blue is the colour 
I see and feel
it’s caught in my throat 
my hearts reveal
no words can release 
my mind is blocked
from expressing it's true Self
that is it's want
to sit is the solution
it dissolves all desires
to be patient 
to be potent
to dampen the fires
the dryness of life 
makes a person hard
to cry tears like oceans
will soften that shard
it’s not for me to decide 
what’s right or wrong
but to bear witness 
absorb
to sing my song
with words that vibrate
for me alone
I will break through the precepts
that others condone
and sit as I am 
in magenta tones
to live with the light
I call that my home

On a whim one day we took the car
And drove for miles and miles, quite far
To visit a place, a sanctuary
For cats and dogs and all things hairy

All three of us without a plan
Had never been best friend as man only can
We had no clue when disembarking of all the curs
Alone there skulking and marking

The couple who had come on holiday
Decided to stay when confronted by strays
And in their house they were inundated
With bowls and beds and little bodies mutilated

In one cage a ball of fur hid and retreated
Into the shadows and disappeared
I failed to notice this little hound
Instead shed tears for all around

With anxious steps from Helena and Remy  
We were led to a cage much bigger and roomy
Where inside seemed to hide a huge Bear
Who smiled and sniggered and appeared not to care

This one we took out for a walk
But before that we asked who could not talk
And from the cage the most pitiful thing
With one broken leg and fear heartbreaking

We bundled them both out that day
And bathed and fed and loved them forever
And still today

The persimmons hung gorgeously orange
And red off bare limbs
Nature’s ornaments in December-
They dropped, divine and ripe
Juicy one by one
On to the soft leaf litter
Out of loving arms and all naked
grey skies.
This was my daily treat
Landscapes of color and
That tree at the creek corner road
Stunning in fog
As I obeyed the stop sign at least once
Or twice every day
In the darkest time-brightest joy
Illuminating the fumy and spirituous,
wet northern
California days..

If I might bite that luscious fruit
Stolen from someones tree
Rest in the cool bay rain
Slumber me
Rock me In that sweet,
Fresh petricor that bewitches
Your mind before it washes your ripe skin.

I was the wild mustard then.
Everywhere at once in winter
Corrupting ****** soaking earth
Thunderous yellow

Rising for an all too brief season
Mistaking you for the sun

We walked the trail alone we thought
Until we heard an axe strike knot
A young man it seemed with strength of ox
He was wise and bright as a fox

His hand was soft his skin was smooth
No worry it seemed dried that fountain of youth
But on reflection we realised 
This man had knowledge from paradise 

We talked and laughed and thanked that man
For clearing wood with attitude of can
We knew his life in those moments of trust 
We heard stories of war and love and lust

As small stones drop into enquiry waters
Sink deep and settle and move with order
His life force moves across the world
As his ripple lives and lasts and is heard

His vibration will continue his soul a force
To inspire and encourage us all back to the source

I knew your face so well
when I look now I remember every cell
it’s smooth, your porcelain skin
so smooth, and fine, and thin
the hairs of your eyebrows perfectly plucked
you beauty spot, made more beautiful, made up
your green eyes, sharp, ponds of worry
your hands hard, cut and worked, always in a hurry
the hollow of your neck, the soft pigeon of your chest
your long legs and heavy feet, walking quickly
we had to run after you, up the street
we carried bags, they made us strong
and we followed along, in rain, sun and song
like duckings behind you
our mother