Poems of Presence Project

Poems of Presence

So, here are my poems of presence. Without a doubt they sustained and spurred me on through the entire month of May. I chose to think of the Pandemic lockdown as solitude, rather than isolation. I clung to a strong desire to be creative, devoting time to appreciating family, cooking, reading, writing and rummaging through my assorted treasures. 

Poems of Presence became a writing project among other writing projects. Short poems demanding thought, reflection and close observation of my immediate world...

I am sharing my poems here and also submitting them to the Dear Australia project being conducted by Australia Post. The project aims to curate the collective actions and thoughts of Australians during the Covid 19 Pandemic. They will be archived for historical consideration in years to come.

*

The air is still

Behind the headland.

The backstreets

I walk to avoid

Dazed dawdlers

Wanton wanderers

Offers up

A lone crow cawing.

I press on in my splendid

Isolation.

*

The rain,

soft, constant

Limits outdoor

possibilities

The greyness

a blanket

Tossed over the morning

Moves me away from

the window.

*

All the worlds I live in

All the worlds I see

Won’t fit into one mouthful

When words spill out of me

Sometimes they’re words of fire

That emerge with spark and flame

Sometimes they’re gentle whispers

My worlds are not the same.

*

My suspicions

grow by the day for...

Door handles,

Cash,

And populist politicians.

They are my push button issues

To be avoided like,

Like...

-the plague!

*

The push for easing lockdowns

Slowly gathers speed

I'm in no rush

To join the crush

I'll sit this out and dream.

Scotty's song won't keep us safe

I see no need to hasten

I'll watch it from the ramparts

This charge from isolation.

*

In the midst

Of these days

And fluctuating global fortune

I must settle my mind

Into the long journey

Moving with the change

Not railing against it.

The selfless care from others           

Offered without strings

Their thoughtful gestures

Move my thoughts

Well beyond the shadows.

*

In the journey

From birth to death

We travel the road

Of a thousand challenges.

From that necessity

A fearlessness grows.

We must be daring

And hold to the truth,

Be undaunted

Even courageous at times.

*

I sit beside the window

Gazing upon

the slow motion

Garden transformations.

I ponder the lovesick rejection

Of my former relationship

With the world.

Maybe today

An invasion of butterflies

Maybe the sound of an eyelash

Crashing to the floor

Maybe...

*

While presently possessing

 the social mobility

Of a garden gnome

I am content to mine

The sweet content of my days

Far from the madness of crowds

With morning birdsong

And in the background

Lucinda Williams pleading

For passionate kisses

*

How fortunate is the person

Who gets to wander slowly

Through a garden

And chance upon

A late blooming

Passion fruit flower

Beauty undimmed

By its late arrival.

*

An outing

A trip,

A journey, not far

But one

That required

The use of a car.

No exotic locale

No view of the sea

We purchased fresh veggies

Then home we did flee.

*

Where have all the walkers gone?

Long-time passing

Those fair weather footsloggers

The joggers

The footpath cloggers

Have they exorcised their demons?

Have they been released

Was it just a fad

And now the walking's ceased?

*

Delving into old notebooks

Rereading rusted entries

As I wander the shoreline of my experience

Words, both worthy and worn out

Spring forth to be re-examined

They sharpen my awareness

Arousing further pondering.

*

As I wandered watchfully

Down Main Street

After two months

Of self-imposed solitude

I began to regret

Not following through

With my lockdown project

And designing an echidna suit.

*

A trip to Mt. Eliza

Equipped with sanitizer

The trepidation lingers

In inebriated fingers.

*

Saturday morning smirr

Greets me

As I step into the day

Gentle mist

Gossamer light

I pick up the newspaper

Lying in my driveway

Wrapped tightly in its plastic

Raincoat.

*

As I wandered watchfully

Down Main Street

After two months

Of self-imposed solitude

I began to regret

Not following through

With my lockdown project

And designing an echidna suit.

*

We need leaders

Not needers

We need makers

Not breakers

At this time

A measure of our will,

Our resolve,

Is to remain still

Breathe in

Breathe out

And take a slow, look around.

*

I must push through

These hard days

of composition

And tie the words together

No one appreciates

A half written poem

A bird almost flying

And who sets their destination

at the half-way point

on the escalator?

*

I hold no wish

For a heavy heart

I must nourish my thoughts with hope and humour

I must feed it with a belief

That we will emerge wiser

Stronger

From these days.

*

The bells await the arrival of a breeze

A breeze moving gently through the garden

Summoning them to share

Their soothing chimes

Love is in the air

The instant they sing.

*

We’re travelling down

A bumpy road

And no one’s carrying gold

We need the shelter of our homes

Take heed of what we’re told.

*

To walk the in the garden Early in the day

Before the sun

Makes its entrance

Delivers delight

To the wide eyed wanderer

The smells of the earth rise up through the shrubbery

The last of the evening dew

Hangs grimly to grateful leaves

The scent of lemon blossom lingers in the air

As the small creatures emerge from hideouts, resting places and lairs

Bugs, beetles, butterflies.

*

Loss is not always sudden,

Or spectacular.

Sometimes it erodes the very edges of your spirit,

Across the years

Creeping incessantly like rust across a tin roof

Movement barely perceptible,

Yet keenly felt.

*

We must not forget

That landscape of cinders and smoke

That palette of orange, black and grey

That astounding summer of devastation

And that hideous wind that came bearing an inferno under its arm

Erasing life and lifetimes

Shredding hopes and dreams.

We must not forget.

All Poems by Alan j Wright