“We wish to thank the AER Foundation’s Small Grants Program for its support and commitment to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Australia”
He saved my life Literally and metaphorically He is my saviour Big, bearded, brave But kind and caring Arms large enough to hold me Tight against his tickly chest Hands big enough to lift me away From dangerously dark thoughts He saved my life He helped me make my heart whole He filled the hole in my heart with love He [...]
As a child I considered the possibility of Happiness to be so alien to me As to be non existent. I lived in a world Based on domination, humiliation And emotional deprivation. At a young age I had Already taken sanctuary In a world that existed Within the confines of my mind - Bristling with [...]
Four boys and a Commodore With the bonnet up Peering deep into the unknown With board shorts at half mast The ubiquitous Australian ‘crack’ The last thing you see when they pass They play – just like they did When they were young With smaller cars in smaller yards My son kisses his “missus” The others light their smokes Laughing at [...]
You’ve seen so much of my boy , been with him for so long Wrapped yourself around him When he was sad, or when he had a hurt I couldn’t mend I used you too – you healed us all at one time or another If you couldn’t, then you comforted He loved you before [...]
I sense The throbbing ache of a pity so powerful, so compelling and All pervasive I know it will obliterate me if I feel it all I have closed my heart to this living thing Knowing that if my remaining days Are to be lived without recourse to a hospice for the emotionally eviscerated or the psychologically exsanguinated I must [...]
I’ve been told I should have these poems published But who would want to read This crap This dark unwholesome Distasteful, noxious Cluster Of vomitus of the soul……………… Of my soul The dichotomy is that I am a happy cheerful and friendly person I am not the sad, sorrowful, grief-stricken Wannabe poet…….. Or writer……. Or artist That many of my poems seem [...]
Lost, like children in a war Floating in a universe of directions With none Faces that once stirred Now silent Temptations no more When destiny issues the challenge Lives change People move on Faces reflect the outrage Until the realisation that Nothing really has changed Nothing ever does Life continues For others They smile They laugh and love While fear and hopelessness lie in [...]
The icy, menacing ocean that once tried to lure me To seek solace from my pain In its dark, grey, churning waters Has now become a thing Of great beauty And timeless joy and inspiration To me The ocean hasn’t changed - I have What a joy to know That something I once chose to destroy me
What purpose does this serve lord? Can I ask you that? That I stand tall and proud Living my life on my own terms While my son who I would die for this second This second Lord Must stumble from crisis to crisis Not knowing why or how They happen My beautiful son My precious child Who I would die for Lives [...]
Eyes bright with tears Peering down dark depths into my soul A heart broken by careless comments Sobs against my breast Unbearable pity enfolds me Surrounds my heart Squeezing, constricting Words, soothing but glib Flow easily from my tongue A mothers platitudes Masking the overwhelming truth Sniffling Tears drying like midmorning dew drops On [...]