SLEEP

My only friend is sleep.
She wipes away my tears
And deletes my memory,
Soothing the future's fears.

Nightmares try their best
But their black trauma dies
As soon as I awake
To know them as bleak lies.

Those lonely wakeful hours
Are enemies of life.
They eat away at hope
And scar me like a knife.

So let me lie asleep,
My eyes closed tight and dancing
To the music of wild dreams,
Replete with our romancing.

REMITTANCES

It’s a thrill at first –

All is new and strange –

And everyone is friendly

But you can’t yet see the stains.

Then novelty becomes routine

And most people lose interest.

You have to make real friends –

Ones who realize the distance.

And all your resolve

Begins to break down.

It fails completely

When you see a child frown.

The voices from home

Insist that they miss you;

And you must believe it,

Yearning for them to kiss you.

Your family adjusts

To their new way of life.

They don’t say much now

To an absent mother and wife.

The local men misunderstand;

And mistake a smiling face

For something much more comely.

So they try to invade your space.

Their women suspect you –

Jealous of your youth –

And they gradually withdraw,

Becoming spiteful and aloof.

You find consolation

With the women like you –

Genuine laughter and grins –

But, alas, they are so few.

Yet the money is good;

And you hope it is worth

The sacrifice of self

And the scars of rebirth.

As the days become years

You pray that your children can see you

In the house full of your gifts
And horizons that they can now view.

MIDWINTER

It was only a dream

But you cuddled up to me,

Your breasts against my chest

And my arm around your shoulders.

You whispered comfort.

We agreed we had missed

Each other’s lives

And being together again

Had been awkward at first;

But that had now passed.

Your eyes flickered

And your smile mesmerised

Just as they had done

Back in the day

Before the black birds

And the filthy fanatics

Embezzled the future

Of the realm of turquoise.

Your skin was smooth

And your breath was warm

As your words calmed my mind

And your lips teased my mouth.

For the first time in years

I was not a mess of meandering

Thoughts and strange imaginings

That had served as veering diversions.

Instead I revelled in your liveliness,

Pledging never ever to leave our heaven.

NOCTURNE

Silky legato conjures night –

Not black spaces empty of light,

But the sparkling spans of spangled skies –

Brightness blinking like bewitching eyes.

As I watch your hands cross keyboards

And gifted fingers tap complex chords,

My dreams dance to other thoughts of night,

Realms we could explore in coupled flight.

The prelude ends and your face shines,

Magically composed by feminine lines;

And smiles and words engage my senses
With attendant hopes in future tenses.

PIANIST

You look out at me as though
You were spying behind dark curtains;
Black hair combed out in luxury
And eyes confident and certain.

And there is mischief in those eyes
As if you guessed my only thoughts -
Knowing they are all about you
And my fear that all might come to nought.

It is as if you seek to reassure me
With a pose that prints a flirt;
As if you had issued an invitation,
Underwritten to imply no hurt.

Your smile adds to your claims
With lips that exist to be kissed;
And dimples of deep temptation -
Too deep to be dismissed.

And your hands are so sleek -
The instruments of a musician,
Who makes the ivory chant and speak
In riffs and trills of sweet precision.

I see the tilt of your lovely head,
And I quake at something about your stance
That signals not quite a coquette's call,
But perhaps your faith in happenstance.

DINKUM

Some day we'll all be in competition.
Some day there won't be nothing but pain -
No time for holidays and no fishin' -
Every day drained out like the rain.

When did we all get so damn greedy?
When did we start to laugh at the lame?
Why are we so hateful and needy?
Everyone bears some of the blame.

Why are politicians so wealthy?
How did they store up so much gain?
For us it's just so hard to stay healthy,
And most of us are lashed with disdain.

We long for lives that are dinkum,
With love to keep us strong and aflame.
The ones who rule now better start thinkin'
Or get out and let others take aim.

POLITICIANS

They swooped like plovers
And landed on the backseat of brilliance;
Never doubting their drive
And fortified with resilience.

We danced like cheer girls
And marvelled at their intentions;
While the sky began to skid
And they planned graceless inventions.

Now it has come to nothing
Except a long road of rebuilding;
Even true believers are gutted
And golden streets require regilding.