Sing for your life

19 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in 100 Word Story, LIFE, LOVE, music

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Footsteps echo on the floor of the stage. She stands, patient, until there’s not a sound in the house. A pregnant pause. The orchestra begins softly. Is it a dream?

Her mouth opens. The unfurling sweetness leaves her audience open-mouthed. Her voice swells, her heart breaks open for all to see. Its beat visible, every heart in the house keeping time.

The ghost of her lover hovers. She melts, knees giving way, sinking to the floor. A warrior strides onto the stage. His white suit, armoured against her pain. He reaches down and raises her upward, voices reach the stars.

This one’s for Mary.

16 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in FRIENDSHIP, LIFE, LOVE, POETRY

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friends, only ones left, Tea

FRIENDSHIP

Anon

Two old ladies, we sit down to tea
I’m eighty-four and she’s eighty-three
I hate her and she hates me
But we’re the only ones left you see.

We meet every Wednesday at half-past three,
I go to her, then she comes to me.
I bore her and she bores me
But we’re the only ones left you see.

She talks of Henry and I of Fred
And all the things they did and said,
We both tell lies and never agree,
But we’re the only ones left you see.

She boasts of the party at Number Three
When Fred kissed her instead of me.
I wear his ring, so it’s plain to see
Why I hate her and she hates me.

Never trust your best friend, they say,
And I don’t trust her to, not to this day,
But the rest are gone – so we’ll pour some tea
For we’re the only ones left you see…

I’ve not found out who this particular “Anon” is. If you know, please tell me. One of our elderly “North Pine Bush Poets” performs this so well, I always hear Mary’s voice when I read it.

Another of my favourite poems

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, POETRY

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Ada Cambridge

The Old Maid’s Story
by Ada Cambridge 1844-1927

Ay, many and many a year’s gone by,
Since the dawn of that day in spring,
When we met in the pine-woods, Harry and I,
And he gave me this golden ring.

I had lovers in plenty, of high degree,
Who wooed in my father’s hall;
But none were so noble and brave as he,
Though he was the scorn’d of all.

On the soft, green grass, where the shadows lay,
All fleck’d with the sun and dew,
With a ring and a kiss did we seal, that day,
Our vow to be leal and true.

‘Twas a life-long vow;—but they did not know—
And they thought not of love or pain;—
We met just once in the sleet and snow—
We were never to meet again!

He was sent away o’er the blank, wide sea,
And I, with my hopes and fears,
Had never a message to comfort me
For over a score of years.

They laugh’d at my heart, they paraded my hand,
But I answer’d them, cold and grim—
“If Harry ne’er comes to his native land,
They shall only belong to him.”

At last came a tale from the battle-field;—
And they were not scornful now.
The sentence of exile might be repealed—
They would honour our plighted vow!

They told how my Harry, like olden knights,
Had fought for his land and Queen;
Fought hard and well on the Alma heights,
Where the deadliest strife was seen.

They told how he fell in the fire and smoke,
And they gave me his things to keep;
They wonder’d why I never cried or spoke,—
But it was too late to weep.

Thank You Thursday

02 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in Elsa Holland, Emmylou Harris, FRIENDSHIP, Jupiters Casino, LIFE, LOVE, music, musicians, Rodney Crowell, THE WRITERS' LIFE, work

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How was your day dear? Woke up tired, pushed yourself to work, a crazy busy day and you’re exhausted? Yes, so was mine but I have a lot to be thankful for today.

Why was I so tired? Because I have the most wonderful friends! My friend Cass was offered tickets to see Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast. Though she tried very hard, she just couldn’t make it so she suggested that our mutual friend and I might like to go. She knows us so well! So well that she’ll always be my friend, she knows too much!

So reasons I’m thankful today? Do you want them in alphabetical order? No? Oh well, here are just a few reasons:

We were given the opportunity to see a great show which reminded me how much I love music. Especially music where I can hear art in action. I heard each fabulous instrument played by a professional, an artist. Where the singers/songwriters are so talented that their words (which I could hear!) evoked emotions reminding me why it’s good to be alive, I could sing along, mostly silently but I apologise to the people around me for when I couldn’t keep completely silent.

My wonderful friend Mary collected me from work and drove us down and brought me home even, a generous thing to do involving at least 229 kilometres, arriving at my place after one o’clock this morning. Thankfully she stayed at my place to sleep for a while before attempting the drive home.

After about four hours sleep, I pushed my eyes back into my head and set off to work where we are still finishing off last years’ accounts. We haven’t quite finished yet and the tidy up will take a while but I could never have got as far as I did without the generous and cheerful help of Amanda, Grace and our new colleague Paige.

My lovely friend and critique partner, Elsa Holland, has been helping me to establish my platform as a writer and in celebration of all my lovely friends, long term and short, both real and cyber, she shouted my favourite steak sandwich while we discussed our goals and plans for the next few months.

After a frantic afternoon back with the accounts, to top things off, Paige and I caught the train together; the wrong train as it turns out. But you know what, we only went one station in the wrong direction before we realised and when we got out of the train, away from our phones and looked up, there were the last vestiges of a gorgeous sunset. The train back and the right train came along within 5 minutes each so no harm done.

So, thank you everyone who made my day such a good one. Lastly but not least, I’m grateful for my lovely warm bed which is calling to me now. Sleep well. I know I will!

One of my favourite poems

18 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, POETRY

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A White Rose

THE red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

John Boyle O’Reilly (1844–1890)

Good Friends are Family

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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caring, contiguous, family, friends, loving

Family and friends. Sometimes they are one and the same. Sometimes your friends become your family and sometimes family become your friends. It doesn’t matter whether they are blood related or not, family and/or friends are necessary for our mental health, in good times and in bad.

What makes a friend as dear to you as family? Simply put, it’s love. Even though they may not live close enough to be with them as often as you would wish, you know they care. They are there for you when you need them most whether in person or on the phone; when you just want to enjoy some relaxation with someone you can ‘let down your hair’ with, be yourself with, you want to be with them – contiguous; when you can make a fool of yourself-or spill the entire contents of your coffee mug-you know it’s okay, you don’t feel as if you’ve ruined your friendship by being a klutz.

But that’s only half of the story, or it should be. There’s an old saying, “to have a friend you have to be a friend”. That means that when your friend needs you, you have no hesitation, you want to be there for them. There’s nowhere else you would rather be but there with them while they work through whatever their pain or problem is. Even if you can’t do a thing to help, you want to be there, sit quietly and listen, make a cup of tea or coffee, or whatever it is they like best to comfort them. You want to do a load of washing, cook a meal, do some chores which will free them up when they need it.

What a lonely world this would be without family and friends. Moving from your home to the other side of the world would be so much harder if you had neither family or friends. In Torn Mary finds new friends along the way, friends who become her family. A friend she expected to be as close to her as family turned out not to be the person she thought she was, well, at least not in Torn. And, those she didn’t expect to like as friends in the beginning became her family.

Today I’m feeling blessed that I have both family and friends whom I love dearly. Family who are friends and friends who are family and I want to thank you all for being there for me recently. I hope I can return the favour though hopefully you won’t need me for quite the same reasons as I needed you recently.

Life goes on…

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE

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loss, PTSD, Survivor, Survivor Guilt, thriver, victim, Winter

The gathering of the clans is behind me and the scattering of same is almost complete. The sun comes up whether we feel ready for it…or not. Life goes on with or without our loved ones. This morning was the first day of winter here “down under”. The slight chill in the air matched my Monday morning mood.

There’s not a lot any one of us can do except get out of bed and put one foot in front of another until the day is done. I don’t know about you but although I’ve lost maybe more than my share of loved ones, I’ve never had the misfortune of losing as many within such a short period as my character Mary in “Torn” and those like her in Ireland in the 1800s.

Losses coming one after another for an extended period can beat one down emotionally. Surviving when others around you fall victim can also lead to feelings of guilt for having survived or Survivor’s Guilt. Reason and logic might have little to do with such feelings but they are no less painful for it.

Though it may not have been recognised until relatively modern times, that doesn’t mean people before its discovery did not suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Becoming a Thriver under such circumstances can be a nearly impossible task. It takes a special kind of person to live on and prosper without the help available today. How do you think you would go?

Where am I Wednesday

27 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, MY BOOKS, SHATTERED, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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family, food, Irish Famine, sailing, ships, shipwreck

As part of the gathering of the clans, I am up in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. People are arriving from everywhere. My great-nephew and his sister are here from New Zealand, sisters and other family arriving from all over.

My trip up was… interesting. I can’t remember how long ago it was when I flew in a propeller driven plane! It felt a little, dare I say, archaic? We really are spoiled in this modern world. So many things we take for granted. Warm clothes, cool air-conditioning, fast jet planes and more food than we could eat or than is good for us! Especially now, food has been arriving for days. I’m with my nephew and his family at the moment and she is saying she hasn’t had to cook in days!

What a different world it is, even in this age, in other parts of the world some not so far away and others not so long ago in history. Excuse me for harping on about the Irish Famine, but that’s the era I’ve been “living in” for the last I-don’t-want-to-say how many years. It hard to imagine a world without electricity for a start! Add to that the transport problems.

At that time in history steam ships were the newest latest whizz bang technology. Sailing ship captains navigated by the stars without the aid of computers and it took months to travel from Ireland to Moreton Bay off and Brisbane. Many didn’t make it that far. Shipwrecks were not uncommon either.

When I was tempted to turf Rosaleen off the “Reliance” in Africa. My critique partner wisely told me I shouldn’t. Rosaleen is, she said, was “such a good bad character”. After nearly being pushed overboard again in the Great Australian Bight, I relented and she survived! She kept trying to take over the story in “Torn” but I’m pleased to report she has settled for being the leading lady in “Shattered”, the follow on book from “Torn”.

Before I go, spare a thought for Liam’s horses on the “Reliance”. Every horse in Australia came at some time from overseas. It wasn’t easy to transport horses and it was not easy to research how they did it! But that’s a story for another time.

The Gathering of the Clans

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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empathy, families, friends, funerals, gratitude, loved ones, sympathy, weddings

Weddings and funerals, times at which we all gather together to celebrate either the beginning of a new family or the life of a loved one who has passed away. There is such comfort to be had in the company of loved ones and the good wishes of friends, fellow writers and work colleagues. I am blessed with good friends and a large loving family. Everybody has been very supportive and kind after the recent passing of my uncle and my nephew.

Not everyone is so blessed. In the time of the Great Famine, the period in which I have lived for a couple of years while researching and writing my books. Back then there were so many in the same situation. We in our comfortable homes and lifestyles can sympathise but can we really appreciate the suffering of people elsewhere who do not have the good fortune to live in such affluence?

Going back in history can teach us many lessons should we wish to learn. How many of us have had to sell the clothes off our back for food to eat? Then to have a severe winter in which those clothes made the difference between living and dying of exposure. How many of us have had to go without so our husband, wife or children could have food to eat? How many of us have lost every one of our family members and had to go on alone?

Sympathy and empathy are each valuable qualities for each of us to develop. More valuable still is a smile and a helping hand to those in need. When we think our problems are overwhelming, there is always somebody worse off and we usually don’t have to look far.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and expressions of sympathy and empathy. I shall treasure them in the coming days.

Moody Monday

25 Monday May 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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family, friends, funeral, keening, mourning, remembering

Every day is a new day, a new chance to find happiness. I need to keep telling myself that. Today, I choose my mood to be grateful for what I have, thankful for the love offered to me and hopeful for the future.

Yes, I know. I’m more than a couple of degrees less cheerful than last Moody Monday. But, I have been blessed to know the love of so many family and friends, the kindness of even strangers in a time of loss, and I’ve much to look forward to.

Funerals are times of such heightened and mixed emotions and moods. Sober. Sombre. Sad. Bittersweet. I both dread and look forward to gathering together with those who also knew and loved my nephew, sometime soon.

Writing the funeral in Torn was heart wrenching. There are so many ways of mourning. There’s ‘keening’, the sound of a heart breaking. One dictionary describes it as “a wailing lament for the dead“. How quickly we can, at least publicly, move past keening, to talking about happier times is as individual as every human being.

Today I want to look forward as much as back. As the little ones grow up and become adults, I can remind them of those lost. Where their memories are vague and fading, I can honour those gone by telling stories about them, keeping their memories alive in my heart.