When it rains

31/03/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I stand outside

The rain falls

Crashing down

On barren soil

Parched too long

Thirsty for more

Cracked and open

Drinking its fill

Dark waters flowing

Over dusty red plains

To oceans full

Along ancient courses

Where people build

Unsuitable houses

For landscapes old

And disasters new

Where lives are shattered

By that rain

As it falls at once

And crashes still

Then flows and seeps

Until barren soil

Is left once more

Stolen Australia

26/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



My white skin burns in the sunlight

That has graced this land for millennia

Far longer than my meagre history

Longer than those first peoples



        This light shines brightly now

        On the dark past

        We’ve had hidden from us

        For so long



        Never taught in classrooms

        The blood-stained pages

        Of colonial history

        Finally glowing before my eyes



The knowledge of my privilege burns

Scorching its way through my heart

Hotter than the summer here

More fierce than those raging fires



        It is a privilege born of a sacrifice

        Not my own

        That I must still live with

        As my national shame



        The many who had their lives stolen

        Simply for existing

        The generations stolen

        And traded like cattle



The sting of history burns my soul

A past that I cannot change

Yet cannot accept

While its truth is whitewashed



        The massacre after massacre

        Their lives deemed worthless

        Against the value to a motherland

        Intent on exploitation



        A legacy of children

        Ripped from their parent’s arms

        To be denied their culture

        Their future and their identity



Bridges burnt are slow to rebuild

Generations upon generations

Separated from each other

By more than time



        Covered up by power and greed

        At all levels of society

        Denied by those set to lose

        All they had gained by those misdeeds



        The stench of dishonesty

        Slowly seeping out of the pores

        Of the institutions and associations

        That benefited from those crimes



Would the burning of this candle

Erase the wrongs

Of the country I love

I would light it a million times



        Would it bring back Pemulwuy, 

        The Bediagal killed and maimed

        Or the Awabakal men butchered

        And the nine Yuin people slain?



        Would it resurrect the Dharawal?

        Sixteen shot on site

        Dozens more driven over cliffs –

        The slaughter of men, women an children



There is no cleansing fire that burns

Hot enough to erase the past

And we all must remember

Lest history repeat itself

Remembrance

11/11/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation

Take this poppy

Soaked with memories

Of fallen sons

Of lost daughters

Of battles long since over

And pin it to your breast

That it may pierce your heart

And spark a fire

Deep within your soul

To end the misery

That comes from war

And rips out our hearts

And forces tears from our eyes

And gives nothing but sorrow.



Take this poppy

And weave it through

The wreath you will lay

On the memorial for those

Who sacrificed so much

So we can live

With the freedoms

We so enjoy

And, all too often,

Take for granted

But for which we are thankful

And must show our gratitude

More than those rare occasions

Scattered throughout the year.



Take this poppy

And hold it dear

Though the colour may fade

And the petals fall

Because it is all I have

That I can give

To remember those soldiers,

Those high flying pilots

Those naval combatants

Whose names can be found

Etched on monuments

And shines and memorials

That no name should appear on

But too many do.

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