Love in 10 Words

~ Biscuit ~

The oven was warm

And that delicious smell wafted,

Light and airy,

From room to room.

 

The biscuits sat,

Soft and round,

Tempting the senses

On the tray hot to the touch.

 

~ Temperature ~

It wasn’t the only thing I couldn’t touch -

The distance between us

Too far to overcome

But you ignite something in me

 

The very idea of you makes my temperature rise,

My heart beat faster,

Beads of sweat form on my brow,

And I yearn for the times we were together.

 

~ Blue ~

But my heart is blue

Because you’re not here to tell me

That I didn’t put enough chocolate chips in the batter

But you love them anyway.

 

And all I want to do is tell you that

I love you more than biscuits,

More than that corn dish you like,

And more than all the pizza slices we can eat.

 

~ Embrace ~

I want to feel your arms wrap around me,

Warm as a summer’s day,

As I lay my head on your chest

Listening to your heartbeat through your shirt.

 

And I want to feel your warm breath in my hair

Right before you kiss my head

And I lose all control

Of my feelings towards you.

 

~ Petrichor ~

But all I have is the smell of your shirt,

Freshly cut grass and dirt

Mixed with the rain that fell

Just as you walked out the door.

 

I’ve gotten used to you walking out the door

But it never gets any easier,

Knowing it will be months

Til I see you walk back in again.

 

~ Orchestral ~

The sound of your car engine in the drive

Is music to my ears

And the sight of your face

Is a whole symphony orchestra.

 

My heart sings when I hear your voice,

Knowing you are home with me

If only for this weekend

And then you must away.

 

~ Scrubbed ~

When you’re not here, I clean the floors,

I do laundry and dishes,

I go to work and come home

To an all but empty home.

 

There’s my two cats that need looking after

And my son who’s old enough

But it’s empty without you

And this bed is too big for just me.

 

~ Ethereal ~

You’re almost like a ghost in this house -

Your favourite cup is in the cupboard

And your clothes are in the wardrobe

But you’re not here.

 

Your cologne lingers in the air for days,

Haunting my senses as I walk into the room

And filling me with a longing

I can’t even begin to describe.

 

~ Leonard Cohen ~

Your say your friends are gone and your hair is gray

Yet you’re the life and soul of any party,

Though few and far apart our dancing days

Because my arms can’t stretch that far.

 

But, in the lounge betwixt couch and window,

We’ll bathe in soft, dappled light

And sway together, tightly held,

As angels sing on high to hallelujah.

 

~ Scratch ~

What started as an itch to scratch

Quickly ran away from us

And is now so much more than either of us

When we fill our hearts with such joy.

 

The time we share is not enough,

When once we talked but had not met;

An ache that barely has time to subside

Before it is awakened once again.

 

~ Massaged ~

I crave you hand holding mine,

Our legs entwined while watching TV,

The way our bodies fit together

When we’re both done for the day.

 

You healed my wounds from long ago

And taught me there was more to life than pain,

Massaging away the loneliness

Until all that’s left is love.

The Last Image

08/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



If I’d known this would be

The last image I’d take of you,

Would I have made the effort

To take another picture?



It’s quite a nice picture:

You’re sitting on a bench

Hair flowing in the breeze

Half a smile on your face



You never really liked it:

The lighting wasn’t flattering

And you didn’t fancy that top

With that particular shirt



Now it’s all I have:

A moment in time

Frozen forever but

Captured in the blink of an eye



So, I don’t think I would

Take another picture of you

Because that’s the real you

And the one I keep in my heart

Reluctant

06/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I was reluctant to say hello

I didn’t think you’d say it back

You wouldn’t want to be my friend

You were too good for me



I was reluctant to ask you out

I didn’t think you’d say yes

You wouldn’t want to be my boyfriend

You were out of my league



I was reluctant to say yes

I didn’t think you’d really mean it

You wouldn’t want to be my husband

You were way too successful



I was reluctant to let you go

I didn’t think I could

You wouldn’t want to live like this

You were too much for this world

Always Five

05/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



When you were little

I wished you’d never age

You’d stay my precious little princess

Forever and a day

But I never meant for it to happen

Especially not like this



The last time I saw you

Your smile flashed across the park

Your pigtails swishing as you ran

My mind occupied with other things

And you climbed the hill

Ready to slip down the slide



It took me a few minutes

To realise you hadn’t come down

I looked around for you

All to no avail

And the search became more frantic

As the minutes themselves slid by



My heart was beating through my chest

Hands shaking uncontrollably

Air struggling to fill my lungs

As I screamed your name

And fellow parents joined the search

But coming up empty



The police were called

They arrived sirens blaring

To take over the haphazard search

And co-ordinate the organisation

Of checkpoints and interviews

As I broke into a million pieces



As every hour passed, I cried

Tears staining my face

Salt stinging my eyes

The heartache and fear within me

Tearing me apart

From the inside out



Divers scoured the bay

From the mangroves at the shore

To the depths of the ferry channel

Extending the search

Yet still finding no sign of you

Or any clue of where you’d gone



Your face was plastered across the TV

Every network running the story

Of a little girl lost,

Missing, taken

Somewhere out in the world

Away from her grieving mother



My life was turned upside down

As hours turned into days

And days turned into weeks

And still no sign of you

As if you’d disappeared into thin air

Like the angel that you are

 

Strangers blamed me

Their anonymous notes

Shoved viciously into the letterbox

Asking me how I could hurt you

And that I should burn in hell

For something I could never do



The posters with your picture

Stay on every telegraph pole

Replaced within a day

Should they fall or be blown away

Or torn down by unfeeling monsters

Who will never understand



Somewhere you are out there

And I hope you remember me

But as the years drag by

I feel I might be just a dream you have

That haunts you as you sleep

And you don’t know why



I try to imagine what you look like

As the birthdays come and go

And now that you’d be an adult

The fear that I wouldn’t know you

If I passed you in the street

Fills my heart with dread



What music are you into?

Do you still love to read?

There are so many things I want to know

But will never get the chance

Because someone stole you from me

And I fear I’ll never get you back



So, while you’re turning twenty today

I can’t see you that way

My precious little princess

All grown without me there

A life lived that I’ll never know

Because to me you’re always five.

Discarded

02/04/2021 - Poem a Day Compilation



You threw me away

As if I meant nothing

The days, weeks, months

We had spent

Discarded as rubbish on the tip



I cannot see it

Any other way

That feeling of uselessness

Overwhelming me

And weighing down my soul



You did not want my love,

My heart overflowing,

Anything else I could offer

Rejected all at once

With no thought for me at all



But you should not keep me

Out of obligation

Or to save me

From the world inside my mind

At your expense

Ever Since

30/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Before the light

Before the dark

Before the everlasting love



After the world

After the stars

After the universe flickers and dies



While I breath

While I mourn

While I bear this unspeakable sorrow



Ever since you

Ever since then

Ever since all meaning was lost

The Market

29/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



The closed sign hangs on the door

The market has shut up for good

It’s wares no longer wanted

And custom long since gone



The heart itself lies empty

The windows boarded up

No future here can be seen

A vacant, empty lot

Closer

27/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I long to feel closer to you

To be welcomed into the inner sanctum

To be trusted

To be loved

To be honoured as one of your own

As a friend

As a confidant

As a lover

As a member of your closest family



But I must wait for an eternity

Wait until you realise

Wait for the right time

Wait though I yearn

Wait so very long for that which I desire

For your touch

For the joy

For my heart to fill

For the softly spoken words I crave

Family

22/03/2021 - Poem a Day Compilation



Family is meals together

Sharing stories of the day

Over a take away

Or a roast out of the oven



Family is a train trip to the city

To look at the lights at Christmas

Or wander around the harbour

Taking happy snaps with the kids



Family is sitting on the beach

Under an enormous umbrella

With ice blocks melting down hands

And burying someone in the sand



Family is packing the car

And heading off camping

In the national park

For a long weekend



Family is curled up reading

All different books and magazines

At the same time

Just enjoying the peace together



Family is what you make it

Whether you’re born into it

Or it pulls you in

And it’s what makes you complete

Loving you

16/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



The recipe for loving you seems simple

First you start with two ingredients

A little estrogen and testosterone

And let them simmer nicely

Then you add a bit of adrenaline

For that bit of kick

Followed by a splash of dopamine

To get the heart going

And just enough serotonin

For those neurotransmitters to soak up

To create a bond that lasts

We’ll throw in some vasopressin

Just to make sure everything sticks

Finally, we’re going to add a pinch of oxytocin

The ingredient responsible for those cuddles

On long, cold, winter nights

And when all those ingredients

Have had the time to mix together

The result is a bubble of love

That can never be repeated

With any other person

In exactly the same way

Loyalties

15/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I could never love another

My passion is unbounded

I live and breathe for the days

And the nights

And the seemingly endless afternoons

Spent in your company

The highs and the lows

The good times and the bad

Being one in the moment

A connection like no other

No question of where I’d rather be

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away

Because this is my life

My childhood

My adolescence

My youth and my adulthood

My world and my being

A space in my heart filled

With the triumphs and the defeats

Of all my years on earth

A loyalty flowing through my veins

That nothing can drain

Imprinted on every fibre of my being

Every neuron

Every cell

My beloved now and always

My loyal Sydney Swans

I believed in you

01/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I believed in you

When you were broken

And led you to the light



I cradled you

And comforted you

When you cried out in the night



I gave you more

Than I thought I had

So that you may be whole



I nurtured you

When you were down

And fed your aching soul



Now you are

A brand-new man

Confident from head to toe



And I am left here

Torn in two

Watching you as you go

Her Fabrics

27/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



My aunt was a sewer

Always fabric strewn about the place

All manner of threads and weaves

From thick denim to delicate lace



She made teddy bears for charity

For children to cuddle tight

When away from family in hospital

And facing their toughest fight



She made jackets for women

Who lived in shelters near and far

When they’d left home without anything

To escape violence under the radar



She made costumes for schools

To clothe their performing arts

From drama ensembles to dancing troupes

Her skill was off the charts



She made blankets for all the babies

Born into our growing family

Not a one was ever forgotten

From Jonathon to Amelie



I wish I were a better sewer

But I never took the time

More interested in sports and games

Or which tree I should climb



But sitting there in her sewing room

Surrounded by fabrics of every hue

I had the urge to pay a homage

And I knew what I must do



Carefully I measured out a square

From every piece than I could find

Some big and some much smaller

But all chosen with a heart that’s kind



I lay them out upon the floor

Arranging them as best I could

Before pinning them together

A task I never imagined I would



I looked up on the internet

How to thread the sewing machine

And after a false start or ten

I felt like the sewing queen



The squares come together

A mammoth task I’d undertaken

But I would not be dissuaded

My plan wouldn’t be forsaken



Finally, I had a quilted blanket

Bigger than my arms would stretch

With seams a little crooked

And no mean price would it fetch



But I would never sell it

It was my reminder of her brilliance

A thousand little pieces

That tested my resilience



Every colour is a piece of her

Every thread a memory I hold dear

Never will she be far from me

With her fabrics always near

Across the Street at Number 12

25/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation


There’s an old lady across the road,

She lives there on her own.

Her girlfriend passed a few years ago.

They’d been together for twenty-seven years

Ever since she came out to her husband,

And I don’t know how that went down

But I feel like it would have taken guts

To be married for so long

And have kids together

Then decide you not only don’t want to be married

But you want to date people of the same sex!



She’s the sweetest old lady I know,

Almost like a grandma to me.

She’d get me Christmas presents

When I was a little kid

With immaculate wrapping

And bows tied with care

Along with a card written in cursive,

Faintly smelling of her perfume

And maybe a hint on home-made cookies.



Now that I’m an adult, she invites me over

For whiskey sours and platters of cheese,

And conversations about the meaning of life

That last into the wee, small hours,

And Sunday trips in the city

With high tea over-looking the harbour

Eating cucumber sandwiches and chocolates

Before window shopping for all the things

That we can’t afford but wish we could.



Her children live interstate

But they visit when they can –

Christmas,

Easter,

The occasional birthday –

And I know she misses them a lot

So, when they’re not around I visit her

And she tells me about her life,

Full of ups and downs and round abouts

And more love than I could imagine.



She comes from a big family

But all her siblings have now passed away.

She keeps their memories alive

With pictures hanging on the wall

And visiting their resting places

And having one-sided chats with them.

She says she enjoys her chats

As she sits by their graveside,

It being the only time she wins an argument

With any of her sisters.



We’re planning her outfit for Mardi Gras –

She wants it even more outrageous than last.

You wouldn’t think to look at her

As she goes about her daily life

In her pants suits and demure shirts

That when the parade rolls around

She’ll be out there covered in sequins

And adorned in feathers galore,

Rainbow garb from head to toe

And flags of every description.



She’s of the very strong opinion

That life is for the living

And we should take every opportunity

To celebrate our diversity.

She lived too long hiding her true self

And, though she loved her husband dearly,

He wasn’t who she was supposed to be with

And when she met Louise that day

She knew it was now or never.



I think her husband always knew

And he took it very well

Unlike some others in the neighbourhood

Who couldn’t keep their opinions to themselves.

First, he moved into the spare room

While he looked for a place of his own

And, then, when he eventually found something

It was just around the corner.



He still pops round to do the gardening

Or put up a picture hook

Even though he’s now remarried

With another family to look after.

They all seem to get along

And his new kids love the fact

They’ve had an extra set of parents

And older sisters with whom to share the love.



So, if you’re ever passing by this way

More often than not

You’ll find me hanging out across the road

My own kids playing in the yard

With Faye’s step grandkids,

Which she babysits every other Saturday,

As we sip on whiskey sours

And watch the world go by.

It’s a constant reminder

That family is what you make it

And blood may be thicker than water

But love is the tie that binds.

Without

22/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I can’t live without air

I would die

Before most songs had finished



I can’t live without water

I would perish

Before the week is out



I can’t live without food

I would succumb

Before the moon has refilled



I can’t live without love

Yet here I am

Perhaps simply existing

The Starry Night

16/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I stare at the swirls of the night sky

Lost in the starlight

Bathed in the glow of the moon

Captivated by the shadows

Of trees and mountains

And a town, not so distant,

But far from mind

As I stare, still, at those strokes



Its just a print I bought at the gallery,

The real thing far beyond my meagre salary

But the love I have for its curves and lines

Is no mere reproduction

But fills my heart and mind

And my eyes well with tears

Over a thing of such beauty

But deemed a failure by its creator



Drawn, perhaps, to the tortured soul

I wonder what if would be like

To allow the master to see through the eyes

Of a humble admirer

Oft in awe of the power of their creation

To evoke a soothing calm

And a howling terror

Yet remain a thing of beauty



The fluid mix of reality and the abstract,

The seen and the remembered,

The dark and the light

Bearing the weight of the world

Down upon the viewer

And lifting them up,

Exalting them

Beyond anything they’ve ever known



I cannot imagine life without its magnificence

Its dark tendrils reaching out for me

Dragging me in for one more viewing

Always, just one more

But never just one more

As I embrace its hold on me,

At one with the looming cypress

And the forever breaking dawn

Valentine

14/02/2021 - Poem a Day Compilation



I don’t want dozens of roses

If you’re only buying them

Because it’s Valentine’s Day



Pick a dandelion on the way home

Because the colour reminded you

Of that new top I wore last weekend



I don’t want to go to a fancy restaurant

If you’re only taking me

Because it’s Valentine’s Day



Take me to the beach

For fish and chips wrapped in paper

With ice cream for dessert



I don’t want expensive jewellery

If you’re only giving it

Because it’s Valentine’s Day



Make me a daisy chain

While we sit listening to music

In the middle of the park



I don’t want a cuddly toy

If you’re only reason is

Because it’s Valentine’s Day



I’d much prefer your warm embrace

Every other day of the year

And twice on Sundays



I don’t want commercial displays of affection

That fill a CEO’s pockets

Because it’s Valentine’s Day



I want an every-day valentine

Who shows the world their love for me

In ways too rich to put a price on

A Perfect Day

13/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Is there such a thing as a perfect day?

Is it just something that people say?



You might want the great outdoors,

But that perfection is simply yours.



Mine might be very different,

So, don’t be so vociferant.



I might want the rainy weather,

Perfect for snuggling up together.



You might crave the city lights,

The sparkle and shine of crazy nights.



I might prefer reading under covers,

Wondering if characters are friends or lovers.



You might want adventure and daring

Coming to together in the perfect pairing.



While I might need something more sedate,

Maybe watching a movie while staying up late.



You might rather steak and chips

Or buffalo wings with various dips.



I might be more partial to a seafood platter

Or crepes that could not get any flatter.



But no matter what it is we do

I know it’s perfect if it’s with you.

A Sign

07/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Give me a sign

And I will move mountains



Give me a sign

And I will fight any battle



Give me a sign

And I will love you forever



Give me a sign

And I will give myself to you

The Dialogue

01/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Can you hear me?

        Yes, I can hear you.

I feel so alone.

        What would you like me to do?

Sit with me.

        But you won’t be able to see me.

That’s ok, I know you’re there.

         What do you want to talk about?

How much I miss you.

        I’m always here with you.

It’s not the same, though.

        I’m sorry you’re sad.

It’s not your fault.

        But I left you.

You were taken from me.

        I didn’t fight hard enough.

You fought as hard as anyone.

        I didn’t want to go.

You’re still here.



In my mind.