What If

11/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



What if we choose to be kind?

To give of ourselves

Our time and our energy

To support those around us



What if we choose to give thanks?

For the things that others do for us

For help that we receive

And for the privilege that we have



What if we choose to stay positive?

Even in the face of obstacles

That threaten to derail us

And spread love to our neighbours



What if we choose to embrace humanity?

If we lifted up those who lift others,

If we celebrated family and community,

If we look past our differences



What if …

Tender

24/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



You are the ever-loving soul

That caresses my heart

When it wants to shatter

Into a million pieces.



You take caring to another level:

Beyond the clouds that bring rain,

Above the stars in the darkest night,

Over any other I have ever known.



You shower me with affection

When I feel undeserving

And create a safe harbour

For me to take refuge.



You are the most kind-hearted,

Giving of yourself freely

When others would shy away

And filling the room with your light.



You are gentle and soothing

When times are difficult,

Calming stormy oceans

And saving me from myself.



You have a warmth that exudes

From every inch of you –

From your smile to your eyes,

To the tips of your delicate fingers.



You are compassionate and considerate,

Sympathetic and empathetic;

Concerned not with your own happiness

But with the fortune of others.



I am so fond of your tenderness

That I cannot adequately express

The depth of my feelings

Nor the breadth of my love.

The Station Master at Caringbah

18/11/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



When I was a child

My mother didn’t own a car.

She hadn’t driven very far

Since before the day I was born.



We took trains a lot,

And buses, but mostly trains

To school and home again,

And to sport training sessions.



It wouldn’t matter the weather,

Nor the season, nor the occasion,

We would traipse up and down steps

To and from platforms and concourses.



Most staff would give us a smile

Or say hello as we passed them by

Our faces familiar to them

But nothing beyond that.



But one station master was different

He would go out of his way to help,

Stop for a chat with us both

And felt very grandfatherly to me.



Maybe it was because I was young

And all older people seemed that way

Because I’d not had a lot of experience, 

With both grandfathers long since gone.



All I know is that he was nice

And a genuine kind of man

I wish I could remember his name

But it was so long ago.



When it late and dark,

He would keep an eye on us

Making sure nothing happened

And that we made our train safely.



And if the wind had a bit of bite to it

Or it was raining cats and dogs

He’d let us sit in the ticket office

By the heater so we’d stay warm.



He taught me how the indicator board worked

And how to change the destination signs

Without any notion of reward

For the kindness he bestowed on us.



Now I am grown with my own child

Who loves the railways, too.

He hopes to work for the network

And become a train driver one day.



I wish I could have introduced them

Because I’m sure with all my heart

They would have gotten on famously

But I know it’s far too late.