Garden De-stress

Weeds hang on with their roots
and runners underground,
Trying to save a vestige
of potential to shoot.

I don't really want to go
to the garden.
My head is full of problems and schedules
and this makes me tired.

But it's almost sunny
and I'm drawn to the garden
and I sense that things
are ready to grow.

The soil is warm and fluffy or
damp and gluggy in some places.
It smells of organic rotting
and growing, sweet and rank.

I get a spade and mix it,
breaking up the clumps.
I can imagine the nutrients
and life embedded in it.

I chase the runners and try
to pull out the weeds.

Have a Bet! - An Ode To Constant Betting.

When all else is falling down

And as bad as it can get,

Remember life's a gamble

So I'm off to have a bet.

You can bet on almost anything

You can bet almost anywhere

There's never a time where there's no good odds

To win a golden share.

The cricket's on in Brisbane

The gallops are on at Randwick

The tennis is on in Melbourne

There's way too much to pick!

I was meant to take the kids to school

But I had to have a bet

The fights are on in Vegas

And they haven't finished yet.

I was meant to go to work at nine

But the dogs are on in Dapto

Races are on at funny times

To the club, I had to go.

I had to meet the wife for lunch

The arrangement it was simple

But a sure-fire thing made me 3 hours late

So odds-on now I'm single.

Odds for the man to score a ton

Or for the man who's never scored

Or for the time the man scratched his ear

Everything's on the board

I was supposed to do the shopping

It's Thursday night you see

But the trots are on in Penrith

And admission there is free.

I know betting on my kids is bad

But I had to have a burst

The odds are really amazing

That my youngest gets old first.

Remember what the Chaser* said

Where pokies are the king

"Go home to your families

You know that you can't win".

But when all else is falling down

And as bad as it can get,

Remember life's a gamble

So I'm off to have a bet.

(*The Chaser's War On Everything - ABC TV)

Your Eyes

I looked and
Tried to be.
I do feel something and
I tried to understand
What I see in your eyes.

I look long.
I see a compelling brown/green penumbra,
I see hazel and green splashes inside with
Beautiful speckles of black and dark brown.
I try to read your eyes.

I look deep,
In the centre.
It's dark.
Is this love,
In me, or you?

I pull back.
I see your eyes
Like I have seen before
In an animal, wet, round, gelatinous,
Alive (temporarily) and searching me.

May 2011