Cauterised
The soldier's breath was heavy
As the lids above his eyes
He sprawled beside the levee
With his mangled, bloody thighs
The bullets and the shouting
Were fading to the west
And silence was approaching
In the air and in his breast
The field was draped with remnants
The limbs and bones of boys
Those that breathed begged penance
Or screamed an awful noise
The air was thick with torment
The breeze, it stank of death
So many lay there dormant
They'd breathed their final breath
Our soldier groaned again
All shrapnel pocked and still
As blood ebbed from his vein
And on the earth did spill
As he prepared to die
On that lonely, foreign field
He contemplated why?
What result would his death yield?
Then suddenly a face
Appeared before his own
'We'll take you back to base'
it said. But he could only moan
The blessed blackness claimed him
As they moved him to the cot
That day he lost a limb
Which on that field would rot
His artery was oozing
A torn and bloody mess
There wasn't too much choosing
The surgeon did his best
The options were all dire
And time was growing thin
To seal the wound with fire
To cauterise the shin
The blade betwixt the flame
Til metal glowed white-hot
The surgeon took his aim
Then cleansed the crucial spot
The soldier whimpered weakly
As the fire seared his knee
The nurses watched on bleakly
Too much death they'd had to see
Perhaps that youth would die
Or maybe he would mend
But that shadow in his eye
Would be there 'til the end
By moonlight
Milky fingernail
It peeps over the horizon
Then rises boldly
Into the darkening sky
Driving the sun
Off the western edge
And replacing the golden rays
With opalescent gleam
Her cool light shines
Moonbeams dance on water
And cast deep shadows
As creatures scuffle under bushes
Searching for their prey
Oft shrouded in dark clouds
Her glow then muted
Yellowed, greyed
Made yet more milky
'Til she emerges again
She brings the tides
Which surge upon the shores
Makes dogs howl
And nervous birds flutter
Even lonely people
Mutter to themselves
Their eyes smudged
By restless nights
Bathed in pearly light
Her power is more subtle
Her hand more deft
And yet she is formidable
She will not burn you
Nor cause your eyes to squint
But she will send you disquieting dreams
And buzzing insects
And yowling cats
And gooseflesh on your skin
When the round moon sashays across the sky
Then gentle creatures must hide
For predators stalk in every shadow
Hungry for their supper
Teeth sharpened for the kill
Mouths salivating
Eyes alert and ears pricked
Waiting and coiled
To pounce on their prey
Be it leathery bats
Or silent, taloned owls
Spiders with sticky webs
A snake on a summer's night
A patient black cat
A man with ill-intent
A cunning, smiling fox
All have come to kill
To net their trophy
She dances across the sky
A round, glowing orb
Beautiful and dangerous
Aloof of all the destruction
That trails in her wake
The moon
I want to learn to cackle
I want to learn to cackle
To laugh in that uninhibited way
That only a woman who has
Blithely discarded the chains
Of expectation can
I want to cackle at the body shamers
At those who think I have no place
In this magnificent world
Because I haven't birthed a human.
I want to cackle in their face
I want to cackle at capitalism
And unrealistic beauty standards
And the needless violence of men
I want to cackle like a witch
Like a woman liberated
I want to cackle at the leering eyes
And at the eyes filled with pity
And at the arch, judgemental eyes
I want to cackle at my own eyes
When they only seek to see my flaws
For what is a witch
But a woman come into her power
Freed from the crushing expectations
Of a society obsessed with controlling
All that is feminine
Oh yes I long to cackle
To dance around a fire
To mix hearty soups in a cauldron
To gather herbs in the forest
To whisper to trees and flowers
What bliss there could be
Living a life like that
Of peace and calm reflection
Of picking up the shattered pieces
And creating a beautiful mosaic
Of finding the person I could be
Underneath the hopes and wishes
The sadness and the trying to fit in
The bending and then breaking.
But first, I must learn to cackle.
Temporary
I thought it had gone away,
Had flown like a bird
Migrating to warmer climes
One day here, the next day departed
Leaving just a faint impression
That swiftly faded away
That it had ever been here at all.
My step was light, my heart warm
The sun glinted off leaves
And even rain brought only
Bands of colour to the sky
Suddenly time stretched
An expanse of exciting opportunity
The world felt like a mum hug
I baked, I wrote, I sewed
I read grand works of historical fiction
I napped and sipped tea
Poetry flowed forth
And I sketched dogs and cats
Walked in fields of flowers
And felt a glowing peace
But it returned uninvited
Unexpected, untimely, unwished
The shock felt yet more keenly
From it's too-short absence
A marauder with no code
With no-one else to torment
Tailor-made for me
I awoke heavy with dull eyes
And slow thoughts
I moved through treacle
The sun's rays held no warmth
It would not reach me
Below my thickly wrapped
Cloak of shame
Prey
Sophie woke suddenly. The mournful howling of wolves echoed around the valley, but something else caused her skin to prickle. She held her breath and listened....A quiet sound, that ceased a heartbeat after the howling faded. Like someone was working loose the latch on the door. Silent as an owl, Sophie moved to the window and peered out. Three silhouettes darkened her door. She counted two jerry cans and the barrel of a gun. Tools to burn a witch. The whispers she'd spread in town had finally borne fruit. Souls, delivered to her door. Starter, main and dessert. Bon appetite.
Wild fire
Soft white flakes drift
On the hot current of air
And settle amongst
The dry grass stalks
Baked brown and crisp
By the unrelenting sun
On the ridge, blue smoke
Curls and coils like serpents
And, with the aid of binoculars
It's possible to see the orange glow
Of the fire, licking, devouring
Everything in it's path
Leaving only charred remains
It crackles and pops
As it tastes this trunk
And spits out that rock
As it journeys up the slope
Accelerating like a race car
With a hungry V8 engine
The wind picks up
Whipping itself into a frenzy
Carrying the flames higher
And higher again
Lifting the smoke
And tossing it though the hot air
Soon the valley is shrouded
With grey, greasy haze
The heat shimmers on the ground
The soft flakes dance on the breeze
Then settle on the dusty ground
Feather light, til everything is white
The fire makes it's slow descent
From the flatness of the ridge
Into the once verdant valley
Leaving a trail of wanton destruction
In it's smouldering wake
Corpses, stumps, ash
The air is thick now
With heat and smoke.
It's getting hard to breathe now
The acrid air sears eyes and throat
It's mistress, the fire lurks
Perhaps near, perhaps far away
A sudden gust of wind
Carries bad omens
Singed gum leaves,
Edges still aglow
With the greedy embers
Of the ravenous fire
The hose feels small
The water tepid, weak
In the face of this monster
The only blessing is the drought
It's turned the country to dust
And dust is no food for fire
Still, the burning leaves alight
And soon a grass stalk flickers
With the dancing orange flame
A moment of joyous life
Before the harsh wind
Blows it roughly out
The gardener
Janette wheeled the barrow through the thick oak gate. After months of pleading with Ms Rhodes, the stately lady had sighed resignedly.
"You may enter the garden. But please, remember this was your idea."
The garden on the other side of the gate was beautiful and wild. Vines curled and danced, the air was fragrant with the scent of flowers.
A dark corner by the far wall drew Janette's eyes. A wall of verdant ivy draped down to the ground and something glinted in the morning sun.
Setting the barrow down, Janette picked her way carefully across the garden, over cracked pavers and sun-parched weeds.
Reaching the far side, she bent and swept a handful of the ivy to the side, with her gloved hand. Then she peered into the inky shadows. Light glinted again. Off eight shiny round orbs. The larger were the size of oranges, the smaller were like plums.
Janette felt the scream building in the pit of her stomach, as her eyes adjusted to the gloom and slowly revealed the owner of the orbs.
She dropped the ivy, turned and sprinted to the gate. It slammed shut. CLICK. Across the garden, the ivy rustled and twitched.
Thank you, next
From the curly blonde Australia
I'd keep the way you loved your brothers
The friendship you shared with them
Was heart warming and pure
As was your patience and respect
For someone so innocent
From the Canadian I met in Greece,
I'd keep that sense of adventure
That lust for travel, that hunger to live
To sleep in caves and on beaches
To savour the food on every table
To dance joyously in nightclubs
From my German ex in Berlin
I'd keep the picnics we had in your room
The olives, hummus, cheese
Spread on stretchy Turkish bread.
I'd keep your hot-breathed desire,
For it lit a fire in me
From the Queenslander in Sydney
I'd keep the excitement
That came from peeking into your world
Of eating in nice restaurants
And meeting your cool friends
Your cooked breakfast and crooked smile
From the one I thought was mine
I'd keep that razor sharp intelligence
That goofy, silly side that rarely came to play
I'd keep the love you had for your mother
And the love you had for cuddles
And the way you held my hand in the car
From the French sailor in Harlingen
I'd like to keep you still
Those lips, those eyes, that laugh
That fresh smell of soap
The picnics, the sailing, the bike rides
You coloured my summer
Autumn afternoon
It's too quiet
The air's too still
The birds are silent
But the ant hill
Is frantic movement
Sets of six legs scurrying
Hither and thither
They know something
I sniff the air
It smells of pollen
And fresh cut grass
There's no insects
Humming as they fly
Or scent of rain
But the farmer fertilises
She knows something
I make some tea
And when I sit again
The sky has changed it's outfit
From blue, to striking grey
Storm clouds billowing
As tall as skyscrapers
Thunder growls
And fat drops of rain
Begin to fall
It's empty on the ant hill
The farmer - disappeared
The tractor's roar silenced
And now I smell the rain
That fresh, metallic smell
And hear it's awesome crescendo
As it pelts down
And washes everything
Drops turn to rivulets
And tiny pools to puddles
And still the torrent falls
Until it's gushing
Gushing - in the gullies
Gushing from the gutters
And splashing on the windows
And the whole world turned opaque
Thunder roars and groans
Lighting stings and strikes
Cloud sweep across the skies
Those violent, angry skies
And I curl up on my lounge
To watch the fury unfold
To marvel at my smallness
In the face of such turbulence