Sometimes the walls and windows of my house
Have been just that.
Four surfaces to keep the cold at bay
a pod with gas and water, light and heat:
A small spacecraft
Permanently in dock.
And outside trees grow and flowers bloom.

Just walls, just painted walls
A shelter - just prettier than a hut
and more expensive.
Rushes,l ino or **** pile
A candle , gas or leckie
And giant windows cannot mask the confinement.

The changing tree is home, the birds that come and go,
Sun that oozes, wind and battering rain.
Passing chatter and the train's distant hoot
Paper my walls and paint my doors
Light my ceilings and carpet my floors.

Brisbane bowling trip day 3

Today was the third day of my tenpin bowling trip in Brisbane
I started the day having a late breakfast at 7-30
And after that I went back to the room till 10
Watching Frasier on tv after everybody loves Raymond
After that we headed off to the bowling alley
Getting ready to play bowling, it will be radical
My scores were 136 and 106 and 116
And, mate, I blew those pins to kingdom come
And then after that I went to the cafe at the bowling centre
And bought sweet potato fries with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce
And mate that was a dainty dish, fit for a king like me
I bought three chocolates and one guy who was fat himself
Told me if you eat too much chocolate, you will get FAT
After I finished that meal, I went to the grandstand
To watch Leckie and Stephen bowl
And mind you they bowled fantastic
I watched Shane bowl with Belinda and Paul bell
That was cool
After leckie and Stephen finished, our team posed for our team photo
And the picture was so close to the bowling lane
We were setting off the fowl lines
It was fun laughing at that, yes it was
After we left there, we put our bowling shirts out to get washed, so
They will be ready tomorrow
And after that we went to the OLD MILL for our dinner
I had chicken parmigiana and I made a joke, of a chicken wearing pyjamas
Ha ha ha ha, very funny
And I had a pavlova for dessert
And I walked home, and went inside to hang our
Bowling shirts out to dry in the cupboard
And watch home and away and the neighbours
And the AFL footy, between port and Geelong
Cats won, and I remembered Matthew Reid’s song
We are Geelong the crappest team of all
We are Geelong we’re always dropping the ball
But the cats won, I wanted port to win😹😹😹😹😹
And now we are off to bed, goodnight
At the club we were remembering all the home and away and neighbours
Stars
Now we are off to bed
Good night😌😌😌😌😌😌

The wind plays and the night time sleeps
Pain eases with time
A gentle kiss, a golden whisper on the shore
Pain eases with time
Stars burn through the night
Fairies dance to a babes delight
Somewhere a dream begins
Innocence is born again
In the dark of night and days so bright
You help me to remember
That pain is eased with time. ©
Poem by Shannon Leckie 1999

For I was thrown to the brooding storm
On a day so bright, yet so forlorn
If I had known the tasks back then
That sat before this saddest of men
Does it matter to thee, to write & to play
To write of such bother, oh torment do stay
For without thou angst, does passion not thrive
Should it be light, not dark by my side
For thou has dwelt within gardens of sin
Did dance, with a devils grin
Keep thi enemies close they say
It is easier to see him coming that way
Why him not her, no mention of maid
For the arms of thy Women, were warm & safe
Like sweet smelling roses
Warm days & cold nights
They did comfort, this saddest of men
For if not forlorn & broken today
Does thy not know, the happiest of days
Deciept & hate, i know these well
But abandon me not, the roses sweet smell
For these tears of pain should serve thee well
For on stalks of thorns, is the roses sweet smell. ©
Poem by Shannon Leckie 1998