The waltz is almost over
together on our toes
today we dance the quickstep
in depths of winter's throes
that's how it goes-
one season to another.

We tried the bossa nova
discovering new steps
a pas de deux by moonlight
united in our quest
for what was best-
from one year to another.




copyright © Caroline Grace 2012

Through this corroding forest,  
a thin snake winds soundlessly
between stiff marram grass.

Over time, the constant brackish wind sculpts,
drifts / scaling the metal shanks
shackled to their own shape-shifting shadow.

Steadfast in scorched sand, forty or more as one,
tilt towards the ocean,
reflecting conflict between water and earth.

We are not in tune with their deep veined histories
nor elemental transformation.
We do not propound to understand their language.



copyright © Caroline Grace 2012

..... bodies of leaping salmon,
eyes blinking like soft kittens.

I wade ankle-deep in water
searching for her glassy eyes,

plunge my wrists into the flow
groping for her drowned dress.

I know if I could reassemble her face,
push back those eyes to stare,

stare out at me again, clothe her
with that special dress

sewn with delicate seeds of honesty,
she would become whole

and the tiger-fish believe she's human.




copyright © Caroline Grace 2012

Yesterday your letter came.

Risen early,  unable to sleep,
watching the morning,
your roses,
the blown blossom catching in drifts.
Through misted eyes
I read your final sentiments
expressed in such a vital hand –
‘sealed with a loving kiss’

I knew they were mistaken,
(those stiff military men,
all talk and tact)
pushed aside their lies,
would not believe.

Then you came to me,
talked of fire on the horizon,
the desolation of no mans land,
showed me the indelible stain
where your heart once raced.
All confusion dissolved,
undeniable proof.

In time you will thin to a
frail thread of half-formed light,
weaving bright patterns
through distorted days.
I will learn to live,
that peace will come,
cherish your immortal words
sealed with a loving kiss.



copyright © Caroline Grace 2012

In the beginning there were no words
for there was no call for words,
neither was there knowledge,
for there was nothing to know.
All was sublime wordless ignorance,
everything simply - was.

It was at this time, the time of everything,
that Utopia reigned.
All things raised themselves up to the sky
from the rich fertile soil,
from the clear waters,
and from beneath the weight of great boulders.
All things in harmony reaching towards
the brightness of a Utopian sky.

And it came to pass, that beasts
came to dwell in that land.
And the beasts became Man and
Man became the beast.
It was a great time of change.

And Man spewed forth words from his mouth
saying:
"Blessed is this land, for it hath many resources.
I will make claim to it and bring it to order."
And with these words came Knowledge.

Henceforth,
all that raised itself was cut down,
the fertile land defiled,
the clear waters made corrupt.
Great boulders were rent asunder in order to build
marble palaces and statues ornamented with
gold and silver, paying homage to Man.

Time passed,
and there came upon that land a great famine.
The fertile land became barren.
Fishes floated in the pestilent waters.
There was no more reaching towards the sky.
In Man's greed Utopia had been dethroned.
Chaos reigned in its place.
All became worthless.

And Man wrestled uneasily with his conscience
knowing he had lost Utopia forever.



copyright © Caroline Grace 2011