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I looked away

I looked away
for only a moment
it seemed
and when I looked back
you had gone
leaving in your place
a deep-voiced stranger
who snatched at life
with slippery hands
teetering
on feet too small
to navigate
the rocky path ahead
as you tripped painfully
into manhood
 

If I look away
for just one moment
will you come back again?

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Respect

an old cliche
brought forth
by the disrespectful
when they feel affronted

forgotten

when it is they
who trample
on the dignity of others

(c) Merlene Fawdry

And Another

another blank screen day
when the monitor sneered
relentlessly
above a smirking keyboard
ganging up on me
despite my overtures of friendship

I retreat to facebook

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Empty

the vase stands empty
a reminder of her leaving
he breathes deeply
the scent of lost love

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Cactii

downy cactii
promise tactile comfort
to the unwitting
a sensation that lingers
beyond the caress

(c) Merlene Fawdry

birthdays come and go
new year follows new year
in the cycle of life
confidence of youth displaced
by slow steps into wisdom

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Family Arguments - a new year senryu

he said, she said
the combatants court players
from an unwilling team pool

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Silvered drapes close
on a long new years day
celebrations laid to rest

(c ) Merlene

Happy New Year

six million dollars
lights the midnight sky
in a display of extravagance
...Happy New Year

don't look to me
for the answers to life
for I am still
a child like you...
only a little older

Merlene

My son

red hair, freckles
and a smile as wide
as a mid summer sky
his giant heart
blows kisses of kindness
into the wind
bringing light to dark corners 
and alleys of neglect
humankind has passed by

(c) Merlene Fawdry

What order would you put the 12 steps of celebration in?

celebration

temptation

inclination

capitulation

lubrication

inebriation

indignation

lacrimation

annihilation

hibernation

Merlene

Rain

precipitation
weapon of mass destruction
consuming cities

bloated rivers roll
ignoring all convention
oh, that demon drink

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Boxing Day

Boxing Day lunch
under the pergola
proceeded in sedate fashion
until the first pistol was drawn
from a mischievous Kris Kringle
and the shoot out began
in earnest
newly straightened hair
recoiled in damp protest
while the unamused cowered
behind the safety of the pavlova

or so they thought

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Christmas Day

Christmas Day comes early
in a stampede of small feet
the true meaning of Christmas lost
behind colourful wrapping
and a gluttony of gifts

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Seasons Greetings

on this balmy eve
the stage blinks over Melbourne
and thousand of voices
rise above verdant lawns
as the carols begin

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Firstborn

You washed up

that Easter Sunday

in 1965

on a wave of pain

I smirked at

before the tide rolled out

and returned

a tsunami of agony

that wiped the ignorance off my face

and the youth from my psyche

and later

laying battered on that shore

of new motherhood

we greeted each other warily

two travellers

meeting for the first time

on the threshold

of an uncharted journey

(c)  Merlene Fawdry

Dreaming

across the bora
legends of the Dreaming
written in the dust
through ancient dance
and chants
carried on the wind
from spirit hearth fires
affirms the place
of our people

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Jupiter's child

on a distant solstice
we shared the moment
your birth recorded
that midsummer eve
by a southerly salute
to the sun
blessing you
with the optimism
of Jupiter

Happy birthday Heidi

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Skies of promise

Clear skies bring promise
youthful warriors set forth
death stalks the higways

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Lost Manners

from behind my coffee cup
I watch from a distance
the pushing and shoving
of the end of year treasure hunt

I wonder if the prize
is a return of good manners

(c ) Merlene Fawdry

Christmas Sales

Christmas
rings synthetic cheer
through electronic registers
nourished with plastic;
fool's gold
of the new millennium

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Sleepless 

nightmares intrude
into deep subconscious;
a ram raid of violence,
I search the ruins
for my waking self

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Dark Journey

a sliver of sunlight
beckons through the darkness
promising a new beginning
to match his vows
of repentance
she struggles to emerge
to greet the day
her wholeness excised
during the long journey
of the night

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Ararat Hospital 2002

it was cancer
he told her
patting her arm
as he spoke

she nodded
understanding his need
to dispense compassion

while she showed
calm understanding
for his predicament

odd that

(c) Merlene Fawdry

organised religion
that consumer of innocence
snatches from the cradle
for sacrifice
upon the font of skewed doctrine
in larcenous abduction
of rational thought
and self-determination

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Christmas on the farm
Dad felled a tree
a peppermint gum
from down past the back paddocks
near Cooee Creek
dragging it home
for Mum to decorate
crepe paper ribbons
and four candy canes
one for each child
turned black overnight
from stowaway ants
with a fondness for peppermint

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Seasons Greetings

once a year
old friends emerge
seasonal greetings
of habit
meeting by the tree

(C) Merlene Fawdry

in 1956
picking strawberries
in Deanie's patch
under the dawn promise
of a scorcher
we looked longingly
toward the irrigation sprinklers
while grubby fingers
shoving fruit
into greedy mouths
left us short at the weigh in

two bob and off you go

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Wednesday Cinquain 

sofa
plump haven
eases, comforts, enfolds
the heart of the home
couch

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Mistaken identity

her mother's eyes gaze
slow to recognize
the stranger before her
a poignant moment
before the mist clears
to reveal mistaken identity

(c) Merlene Fawdry