Watching Over You

12/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



As I stand here

Watching over you

Watching you sleep

The rise and fall of your tiny chest

I wonder what the future holds

For you

For me

For the both of us together

The fun and games as a family

The outings to the beach

Or boating on the river

Creating memories that last a lifetime

In moments that are gone too soon

But I’m also filled with a fear

That I’m not good enough

That I might fail you

And I don’t know how to deal

With the overwhelming dread

That leads me to contemplate

Whether I should be here

Standing over you

Whether it wouldn’t be better

If it were someone else

Watching over you

Why can’t girls …

18/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



        Darling daughter, you look sad

        What’s on your mind, my sweet?

        You seem a little upset, my dear,

        Is there something I can fix?



My friends at school were talking

About what their daddies do

And when I said I wanted to be like them

They said they were only jobs for dads.



        What type of jobs did they mention?

        I’m sure I’ve never seen a job

        That only men are qualified for,

        Let’s see this list of yours!



Why can’t girls play football?

I can run

And kick

And tackle.



        You can do all those things

        And you could be the next Sam Kerr

        Or maybe Daisy Pearce

        If you really wanted to.



Why can’t girls be software developers?

I can code

And am creative

And have an eye for detail.



        There are many women in software

        Just ask Jaime Gunther or Jane Chau

        And they’ll give you a long, long list

        If that’s what you want to do.



Why can’t girls be farmers?

I can sheet a sheep

And milk a cow

And plough a field.



        A lot has changed in this century

        And many women run farms

        I’m sure Lorraine Gordon

        Could shed a little light.



Why can’t girls work construction?

I can drive heavy machinery

And use power tools

And push a wheelbarrow.



        There’s no part of that you shouldn’t do

        If that’s your chosen profession

        If you want a female tradie

        Then Penny Petridis is the person to ask,



Why can’t girls be engineers?

I can design technological solutions

And test production lines

And analyse risks.



        You could be a chemical engineer like Marlene Kanga

        Or do infrastructure like Elizabeth Taylor

        Maybe defence engineering like Trish White

        Or take on the civil side like Mehreen Faruqi



Why can’t girls be astronauts?

I can study the planets

And work in microgravity

And be away from my family.



        Christina Koch and Jessica Meir

        Have done a lap or two

        Around this planet we call home

        And maybe you will, too



Why can’t girls be architects?

I can design skyscrapers

And be a visionary

And plan every step.



        Have you heard of Momoyo Kaijima?

        Well, you should probably look her up,

        I’m sure he was headstrong just like you

        When she was a little girl.



Why can’t girls be firefighters?

I can hold a hose

And carry more than my weight

And risk my life.



        We’ve got captains and assistant commissioners

        Who are in the fire service

        Like Louise Livermore and Rebel Talbert

        Not to mention all-female crews!



Why can’t girls be pilots?

I can understand meteorological information

And be calm under pressure

And remember what all the buttons do.



        Deborah Wardley was told she couldn’t

        But she proved them very wrong,

        And Nancy Bird Walton

        Is getting an airport named after her. 



Why can’t girls be judges?

I can study hard

And be impartial

And uphold the law.



        I hardly think Virginia Bell

        Let a man tell her she couldn’t be a judge

        Or he’d have been appearing before her

        In a supreme case of misogyny



Why can’t girls be CEOs?

I can run a business

And handle problems

And manage money.



        Melanie Perins didn’t let being a girl

        Stop her in her tracks

        When she started up her business

        That’s now massive in tech.



So, I can be anything

Just like all those other girls?

Do you really think it’s possible

For me to be like them?



        Not only is it possible,

        It’s practically a guarantee

        And don’t let anyone tell you

        You can’t because you’re a girl.

The Hide

10/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I looked at the hide

And sighed one of those sighs

That said to everyone around

That I did not want to be there



Last time I’d been in one of these

I’d been a small child

Dragged along by my father

And told to be quiet all the time



I remember sitting in the dark

For hours on end

With nothing to do

But stare at the walls



I wasn’t even allowed

To alleviate my boredom

To look through the binoculars

At the passing birds



Even in the half light

From the barely open hatch

I could just make out the pictures

That covered the inside walls



I knew every parrot, lorikeet, cockatoo

Every wading bird and bird of prey

All the ducks and gulls that might fly by

And every other bird besides



I’d only said in passing, you know,

That I had gone birding with my dad

But that was enough to once again

Be dragged to sit for the longest time



We stepped inside and that familiar smell

Filled my nostrils and my lungs

Memories flashed of my father’s voice

Telling me what birds to tick off



But you didn’t have a little book

To tick off birds that you’d seen

Your bag was filled with different gear

For a different generation of enthusiast



You pulled out a pair of binoculars

And hung them around your slender neck

Then reached into the bag again

And handed your pride and joy



A camera with the biggest lens

That I had seen an amateur wield

And I cradled it gently as you explained

The basics and set the auto-focus



The hide was not so boring now

It was filled with excitement under wraps

As kingfishers swooped to steal a fish

And fairy wrens flitted by



Before too long sunset came

And the hide was filled with noises new

And I knew I was hooked

Just as my dad had been before

Embarrassing: What parents want to say to their teenagers but can't

02/12/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



Oh, my god, mum

You’re so embarrassing.

How are we even related?

Can you just … not?



        All I did was turn up.

        You’d think the world ended

        Because you happen to be seen

        In public, with your mother!



What are you wearing?

You look like a grandma.

Why can’t you wear something

A little more fashionable?



        Of course, you know, don’t you,

        That if I turned up in anything

        That was even remotely fashionable

        You’d think I was trying too hard.



Do you have to talk so loudly?

Everyone can hear you

And then they look!

I don’t want them thinking it’s me.



        I don’t know if you've noticed 

        But when you get with your girlfriends

        You could fly a jet overhead

        And no one would be able to hear it.



I don’t want a hug and a kiss,

I’m not a little kid anymore.

No one else’s parents do that

It’s just weird and awkward.



        You’re such a long time an adult

        And you’ll have to forgive me

        But I wish you weren’t in such a rush

        To grow up and enjoyed childhood.



Don’t talk to my friends.

They don’t care what music you’re into

Or whether you watched a movie

Or where you went last weekend.



        I have amazing taste in music

        You’d be very surprised

        By what your friends listen to,

        Especially Janie, she likes metal.



Why can’t you look like Johnny’s mum?

She looks amazing.

I bet she doesn’t eat ice cream and chocolate

All the time like you do.



        No, she probably doesn’t

        But I don’t drink like a fish

        Like she does, either,

        And I rather be overweight, to be fair.



You’re too old to be dating.

Jessica’s mum is on her own

And she doesn’t run around

Like she’s trying to be a teenager.



        Jessica’s mum has just gotten a divorce

        From an abusive husband

        Whereas I have been on my own

        Most of your very short life.



You never let me do anything fun,

Like that concert I went to

And you made me come straight home

When everyone else was going out after.



        Friday night in the middle of the city

        Is no place for a fourteen year old

        And I will always do what is needed

        To keep you as safe as I can.



Why don’t you listen to me?

You’re so embarrassing

I just want you to be normal

Like everyone else’s mum.



        If I told you half the things, my sweet,

        About the other mums you know

        You would be horrified

        But we’re all just doing the best we can.

We Never Stop

20/10/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



We never stop worrying about our kids.

No matter how old they get

Or what they’re doing

Or where they are in the world,

We can’t help ourselves.



We never stop thinking about them,

If they’re doing alright,

Whether they’ve had enough to eat,

Gotten enough sleep,

And are hanging out with good people.



We never stop loving them for a moment,

Even when they royally screw something up

Or break our favourite cup,

Stay out too late without calling

Or take the last piece of pizza.



We never stop wanting the best for them

And we work our butts off to give it to them

Whether they appreciate it or not,

Though we hope they do

Because it means we’ve raised them right.



We never stop being a parent

Because once you’re a parent

You don’t know how to stop being a parent

And your parents still don’t know how to stop

So maybe cut them some slack, ok?

Lustre

15/08/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I thought that life had lost its lustre

That it was only full of greys

I felt the storm clouds overhead

And wept outside while it rained



I’d held your hand in waiting rooms

Driven you home with tears in my eyes

I’d mourned you every time you slept

And rejoiced in every waking hour



I scheduled appointments all over the city

Tried to find that one thing that worked

Even if it wasn’t a cure

Maybe it would buy us more time



Then one day you stood by the door

And smiled so completely serenely

You didn’t want to go see the doctor

Not this one or anyone else



The sun streamed in through the window

Giving you an angelic glow

And all I could do was surrender

Even though it meant letting go



We walked to the park instead

And sat by the pond on a bench

Other children fed ducks by the waters edge

And you rested your head on my chest



You drifted off into dreamland

Where you’d run and play as you should

And I knew that I would never wake you

Or hold you again as I did



I carried you back to your bed

A soft afternoon glow filled the room

Outside the birds were a-twittering

And my heart swelled with love for you



I called the ambulance quietly

My voice trembling as I spoke

And though you wouldn’t have heard me

I didn’t want you to know



I held your hand all the way

Because you were my little girl

My love, my world and my everything

And I couldn’t leave you all alone



Then the nurse said that it was time

But who would hold my hand

Now you were finally resting

And I was on my own?

Becoming a Parent

09/05/2020 - Iso Well-Being Compilation

 

No one really tells you what it’s like.

You hear the horror stories, of course.

And you hear about how you’ll never be the same

But you don’t know until it happens.

 

No one tells you how much of yourself

You lock in a box, away from harm,

Because there’s a little creature here

Who needs you more than anything.

 

No one tells you just how much you gain,

Feeling like your heart will burst,

And that, no matter how old they are,

You still have infinite love to give.

 

No one tells you how scared you’ll be.

Not just for this small human

But for yourself and your partner,

Through every trial and tribulation.

 

No one tells you about the doubt

And the second guessing you’ll do,

Because there’s no manual to follow

And no instruction leaflet.

 

No one tells you about the tears at 3am

When they have their first fever

And you don’t know who to call

Because your brain is fried.

 

No one tells you about the absolute pride

When they say their first words,

When they take their first steps,

Or when they buy their first car.

 

No one tells you that it’s ok to have a c-section

Or to adopt or use a surrogate,

And that it’s ok to feed them formula

Or let them cry themselves to sleep.

 

No one tells you about the piles of laundry

That never seem to end,

Even when they’re teenagers

And can probably wash their own clothes.

 

No one tells you about the mistakes you’ll make

Because we’re all only human

And no one is ever going to be perfect,

Not even that wee little bairn.

 

No one tells you about the good times –

The times you’ll get it fantastically right –

When you’ll jump for joy all day

And want to shout it from the rooftops.

 

No one tells you in a way you’ll understand:

You’ll hear the words they’ll say

But they won’t really sink in

Until you’ve lived every moment.

 

No one tells you because they can’t.

Sweet Child of Mine

I held you in my arms, sweet child,
When you were just a babe.
Your eyes, they danced like fairy lights
And caused my heart to flutter.

You could never know, sweet child,
What the world held for you.
I made a promise then and there
That nothing would ever hurt you.

Some things just aren't meant, sweet child,
To turn out for the best.
I couldn't keep my promise to you,
I was the one who hurt you.

I gave you everything, sweet child,
That money could ever buy
But, right at this moment in time,
Money won't help mend a broken heart.

You should know by now, sweet child,
That I always loved you.
All I ask is that you love me
And forgive me now, when I ask.

I won't be there, sweet child,
To hear it when you say the words
I've hoped and prayed you will
Because I can't ever ask again.

You don't know, sweet child,
how much I wanted to stay.
It tore me up inside, night and day,
To see the pain I was causing.

Some day you will see, sweet child,
The truth of this situation.
I know you blame me for leaving you
But forgive me in my absence.

I always loved you, sweet child,
Whatever you might think now.
Don't let anyone tell you differently
Because it simply isn't true.

If it could be different, sweet child,
I would change it in a heartbeat.
I would give anything to hear your voice.
There's nothing I wouldn't do.

Tend to my memory, sweet child,
Don't let it fade away
For a person can live forever
If only in the hearts of others.

Now that I am gone, sweet child,
I can't protect you anymore.
Everyone dies and it's not my fault
But forgive me, sweet child of mine.