Blessed Redhead

Blessed Redhead

Let the fire fall from the skies

Let Heaven choose a few

To harness the light

A beauty unknown to man

A fiery mane of burning hair

Lit by the god’s graces

With ivory skin

Covered with countless freckles

Each a fingerprint from Aphrodite

Only a few are blessed with such beauty

They have tempers to match their hair

Fiery yet controlled by passion

A rarity in this world

To be admired, treasured by man

Loved as no other should

Your Own Reality

Your Own Reality

Don’t be stuck with reality

Find your own world

Make it the way you want

Color the sky violet

Make the grass blue

And the trees magenta

Place the birds under the seas

Let the whales fly among the clouds

And let the animals sing their own songs

Don’t be stuck with reality

Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t do it

It is your world

It is your reality

And because it is

It can never be wrong

History Lives

History Lives

Let me go at five in the evening

Chasing the setting sun

Across the Great Dividing Range

Into the wild lands

Where stars are brighter

The skies are clearer

And the air smells sweeter

The aboriginal fires burn on the horizon

The moans of the didgeridoo fill the air

Even from so far away

History still lives

Let me travel west

Following my instincts

All the way to The Kimberleys

A land, old when the Earth was young

Where time has never changed

Where history still lives

I Love My World

I Love My World

I love my world

Alone in my studio

Cloth on the tables before me

Canvases in the corner

Paints stored in the cupboard

I can listen to music

Read the books I have wanted to read

Or just sit and think

I close the door

Pull the curtains shut

And for a short time the world does not exist

I am all alone in the quiet

Just me and my thoughts

I love my world

The Perfect House

The Perfect House

There is the perfect house

Abandoned so long ago

Left to die all alone

Surrounded by the red desert

Scrub growing in place of grass

Kangaroos and cows die in the front yard

Geckos still run across the wasteland

Looking for a little shade

Water and food are kilometres way

A weekly trip just to survive

Still, that house is a piece of art

Telling a story that has to be told

Of someone trying a new life

Far away from the hassle of the city

Far away from a life that was not their own

There is the perfect house

Telling the history of a savage land

The problem is, no one will ever hear it

Before it is gone with the Outback winds

Buried under the blowing sands

And forgotten forever

The Fires of Change

The Fires of Change

I have lived before

Many, many times

I have seen leaders come and go

Kings, emperors, dictators and presidents

Some good, some bad

No matter, they all fear one thing

The people they rule

The fear what the people think

What they say

How they feel

Time after time

The time came when the ruled raised their hands

They began to speak forbidden words

They began to think for themselves

When they raised their hands and said no more

All it took was one raised hand to start the flame

Others followed, raising their hands

They lit a fire that burned hotter than any other

They burned the world with change

Changes that needed to be made

And the world was a better place after

The Loss of Dragons

The Loss of Dragons

Why did you disappear

You were the stuff of legends

Making kings and heroes

The small towns were afraid of you

They hid their children

Ran to the forests to hide

Still, they sang songs about you

Told stories that are still told today

Then you were just gone

New stories were no longer written

Songs never again spoke of you

New demons frightened the people

New legends made kings and heroes

Even now, without the songs and stories

The people need you

You stand in bronze and granite

Guarding our churches and buildings

We look at you in amazement

Impressed by your wings and fangs

Still, there are no new legends or songs

No more kings and heroes

And that is sad

The Wise Old Tree

The Wise Old Tree

Wise Old Tree

What have you seen

What have you learned over the years

Did you see the first person to walk this land

The sadness of all those who died in wars

Who was the first to look at you in the sunset

How many couples fell in love beneath your boughs

Began their lives together

Shared gold bands with you and God as their witness

Did children tell stories of the creatures in your branches

Did they run when the wind rustled your leaves

Wise Old Tree

You have such a glorious history

A life all except you can only dream of

You are immortal

A god hiding in the forest

Keep your stories

Your secrets

Until you feel we are ready

Then we will listen and learn

And we will be better for it

The Bridge

The Bridge

I know that you are there

Somewhere in the mist

Hidden by time

Existing only in fading memories

There is a path back to you

A bridge that I may not cross

So I stand and look

Wanting so badly to cross

Enter the mist of time

So I can try to find you

And my memories will become real

If only I can cross the bridge

Test Pattern

Test Pattern

Such memories

Lost long ago

In an innocent time

Before computers

Before cell phone

And video games

Kids stayed awake

Hours after going to bed

Hiding under our blankets

Waiting for our parents to go to bed

When we snuck own stairs

Turned on our old B&W TV

Watching until Jack Paar finished

Until the Star-Spangled Banner  played

Long before the daily crop reports

The station shut down until morning

Then we were able to see it

Our friend, the test pattern

Circles and targets

Different shades from black to white

And that Indian chief

Seeing him told us it was time to get to bed

To sleep until morning

So we could watch Captain Kangaroo

And be kids