Missing You

08/01/2021 – Poem a Day



Alone

Broken inside

Crying

Dying without you

Engulfed

Forever searching

Grieving

Holding on to the memory

I

Just can’t

Knotted

Lost in the world

Mourning

Never letting go

Outcries

Pouring from my soul

Questioning

Reasons I don’t understand

Sobbing

Tired beyond belief

Unable

Vulnerable as I am

Weeping

Xenacious

Yet I remain a

Zombie

The Justification

07/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



It started with a breezer

The drink of choice for teens

It was what you did with your mates

On the weekends when parents were away

Or we’d buy a bag of goon

And pass it hand to hand

Play stupid little drinking games

Until we couldn’t walk or talk



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



No one cared what damage it would do

If you went on a three-day binge

Because that’s just what kids do

And it was a part of growing up

It was ingrained into our psyche

No matter what education we received

That drinking was what you did

During the good times and the bad



        You use it when you’re happy

        You use it when you’re sad

        You use it when you’re angry

        This is not a passing fad



If you were celebrating your birthday

You’d have a drink or seven

Pre-drinks at Steve’s place

(Or at least in the shed down the back)

Then down the pub for the “party”

The official part of the celebratory night

And when it came to closing time

You’d be off to someone’s flat



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



You’d have a shot before a date

To calm unsteady nerves

And then have a couple more

As you wait for your meal

You might have a few more drinks

Instead of a dessert because

You’re so much more entertaining

And you’re more confident, to boot



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



You’d have drinks at the uni bar

In the middle of the day

You’d celebrate good grades

And commiserate the bad

Yet while your friends had one or two

You were passed five or six

But no one was noticing

Least of all yourself



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



As you got older, and wiser supposedly,

You’d have a glass of wine at night

With the meal you’d thrown together

With whatever bottle was cheapest

It was your way to relax

To unwind at the end of the day

Until a glass became a bottle

And it started before the meal was served



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



When you went to your grandmother’s funeral

You had a tipple or two

Because you were grieving

And everyone else was indulging

But at the wake you really let loose

And nobody said a thing

Because it’s acceptable when you’re grieving

To get absolutely smashed



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



The day of your wedding is foggy

Because you had a few with the groomsmen

Then a few more while you had photos

And on the drive back to the reception

But a few just wasn’t enough

You toasted the whole night long

To the bride, to yourself, to the in-laws

And to anyone else who was around



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



You went out for drinks to celebrate

The birth of your very first child

While your wife lay in hospital exhausted

Even though you’d been drinking all day

The lads bought you round after round

Because that’s what good mates do

When you’re celebrating such a moment

They won’t let you pay all night



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



Surely you know you have a problem

When the world comes tumbling down

The wife who loved you with all her heart

Has packed her bags and left

The kids don’t want to know you

Or let you attend their school events

And the mates who once stood by you

Are avoiding you instead.



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



You used to drink with other people

Now you drink all on your own

You used to have a reason

But you don’t need one anymore

You can’t hold down a job

Your folks think you’re depressed

The cops have taken your license

And You haven’t washed in weeks



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



It wasn’t like you suddenly fell

Into a bottle by accident

You slide down a long and winding slope

But one of your own making

You could have stopped after the bar fight

Or when you passed out at the barbecue

But you didn’t listen to reason

And didn’t want to see



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



You refused the help that was offered

Then acted like it was their fault you drank

And drank and drank and drank and drank

And then when you’d had enough

You drank a little more

Until all that was left of you

Smelled of the bottom of a bottle

And cheap booze oozing out of your pores



        You use it when you’re happy 

        You use it when you’re sad 

        You use it when you’re angry 

        This is not a passing fad 



The rock bottom you will eventually find

Won’t be your lounge room floor

It won’t be the hard gutter

Or behind prison bars

The bottom that you will find

Will be the grave you have dug

When you couldn’t put away the bottle

To save the life you had

Let’s walk together

06/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Let’s walk together, side by side,

Alone together, you and I

Along the shore as day breaks

Wandering under a golden sky



As the sun peaks its head

Over the horizon out at sea

The rocks do glow ‘neath my foot

Radiant and warming under me



We’ll pass by purple periwinkles

Their little shells so fine

Coiled so very beautifully

Along the rocky shoreline



We’ll step delicately over lichens

Being careful not to slip

On mosses firmly holding tight

To rocks where they do dip



In the small and shallow pools

Left by receding tides

Barnacles cling tirelessly

To submerged and sunken sides



There’ll be limpets by the thousand

Holding fast to the bare rock

Awaiting the tide to rise

Like a ship at the dry dock



Cautious crabs, in the meanwhile,

Will scurry away and hide

But we’ll be able to spot one

If our time we carefully bide



If we’re lucky we’ll get to see

Urchins spiky and small

Tucked up into crevices

By the battered, old sea wall



In those deep and darker pools

Anemones might be found

Flowers of the ocean

Waratahs tightly bound



Further still is the golden sand

Untrampled by festive feet

While seagulls search the seaweed

For something tasty for them to eat



Be mindful where you tread, my friend,

There are things the sting and bite

They lurk in the seaweed washed ashore

The pain of which will set your foot alight



Out on the sand lies yet more pain

If you’re bare foot should happen to touch

The tentacles stretched out behind the jelly –

The blue bottle really is too much.



There are glorious things around here

The brilliant red of a starfish or two

Glistening in the breaking day

The water adding magic to its hue



The early morning swimmers

Brave the ocean pools cool water

Their cossies hug them tightly

Their colourful caps pulled tauter



They should be on the lookout, though,

As they clamber in and out

For little blue ringed octopus

Find homes here round about



If they’re lucky they’ll see below them

Small fish going about their day

Not interested in their human companions

Except when they get in the way



As you look out across the waves

A fin or a tail may flicker by

And if by chance you may happen to glimpse

A dolphin leaping to the sky



Sometime there are pods of whales

Snaking up this all too familiar coast

One day I’ll take you out in my yacht

To watch these majestic beasts boast



What you don’t really want to see

At least when playing in the break

Is a shark hunting for a meal

Then you really know you’re awake



So, let’s walk together, you and I,

Along this superbly stunning way

That causes my heart to flutter

More and more each day

Green beans and peas

05/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation 



I like green beans and peas

And corn and carrots, too,

And mushrooms and Brussel sprouts

(Sautéed, if you’d like to know)



I like green beans and peas

And potatoes – plain and sweet –

Give me broccoli and cauliflower

And sliced or shredded beet



I like green beans and peas

And red cabbage shredded fine

With leek and chives and cucumbers

Or roasted eggplant on which to dine



I like green beans and peas

And braised bok choi as well

Maybe spinach with some feta

And capsicum not done too well



I like green beans and peas

And onions cooked on a barbecue

With raw tomato and lettuce

And we have to give celery it’s due



I like green beans and peas

And radishes by the bunch

Give me rhubarb pie for dessert

And pumpkin soup for lunch



I like green beans and peas

Put lemongrass in my tea

Dice up those shallots

But keep asparagus away from me

My Birthday

04/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I don’t need balloons,

Filled with helium and tied with string,

Floating joyously above my head

But it would be nice.



I don’t need chocolate cake

Covered in icing and sprinkles

And adorned with sparklers

But I wouldn’t say no.



I don’t need any presents

Wrapped in pretty paper

And tied with glittery ribbons

But I’d appreciate them.



I don’t need a hand-made card

With heart-felt sentiments

Beautifully written inside

But I’d still treasure it.



And if I had to give them all up

For the one thing I truly wanted

I’d do it in a heartbeat

Because things don’t matter at all.



What I want can’t be bought at the shops

Or wrapped up and given away;

What I want is the love of a good man

Whose gift to me is his heart.

Magazines

03/01/2021 - Poem a Day Compilation



Who wants to be on the cover of a magazine?

All soft filters and photoshop.

I’d rather be the natural me

With lumps, bumps and imperfections.



Don’t try to sell me any beauty mags,

I’ve seen their unrealistic body ideals;

Give me Australian Geographic instead,

Filled with wonder, awe, and inspiration.



You can keep your page threes and centrefolds

With their unrealistic body types

That lead to unrealistic expectations

Which I will certainly not live up to.



I don’t need your trashy gossip mags,

Dishing out troubles for entertainment;

Show me intelligence and insight, please,

It’s worth far more than the cover price.

Temptation

02/01/2021 - Poem a Day Compilation



That which I saw, I wanted –

To touch, to hold, to have –

Yet you were not mine to possess

And I had no choice but to resist.



The desire flowed through me completely,

Taking over my every sense,

And my only defence was you

Being of sound and moral character.



I craved your undivided attention

With every fibre of my being,

Regardless of the damage

It would undoubtedly do to me.



I fought the urge to tell you,

Knowing my rejection would surely follow;

My heart, at once broken

And hopeful at the very same time.



I could not stand it when we touched

Ever for the barest of moments,

The impulses it sent coursing through me

Made my brain tingle and spark.



My appetite for your embrace

Grew with every passing day

For when you wrapped your arms around me

There was no safer place I could be.





When we parted I wanted to scream

My longing to the night sky

But, instead, I breathed in sweet relief

That you held my heart at arms-length.



This attraction towards you that I felt

Pulled me nearer and nearer to you

Until I could bear it no longer

And I retreated into my shell.



The temptation to break the rules

Is just as strong now as it was then,

But I know this yearning is not reciprocated

And I would be the one to be broken.