In early primary school I remember composing the beginnings of a poem in my head. It went: I was born in Ballarat, some miles away from Melbourne,People always said to me, “Oh my, you must be well-born.” While I chose to prioritise rhyme and rhythm over truth (no-one has ever called me “well-born”, it showsContinue reading “Ordinary Wednesday: Healing Home”
Tag Archives: home
Advent 16: At that time I will bring you home
A nomad for much of my days, I confess the urge is strong now to stay put, to secure, to gather and store, to extend the barns for the coming drought. Where luxurious waste gathers in wardrobes and pantries, I long to play the rich fool and leave it be. Yet still the cloud getsContinue reading “Advent 16: At that time I will bring you home”
Advent 14: Last Things
You shall turn again to earth.(Christina Rossetti, “For Advent”) Before leaving for our new home, we takethe last year’s compost and distributerich, fermenting soil across our garden bed,while lawn – parched from summer – longs weakly for green.I too am parched and thoughmade of mud I cannot rest in dirtuntil the heat is passed.And soContinue reading “Advent 14: Last Things”
Spring Cleaning (II)
I go to prepare a place for you. We do too; with unsure anticipation, we make a space atop the stairs, with bunting and books and animals on the walls, a cot, tiny clothes, a place for your toys. We also prepare our days, our thoughts. They too make space for the big rearrange, thisContinue reading “Spring Cleaning (II)”
At the Right Time (Glenroy Lent #8)
…the war he brought back with him is never far away in this suburb. (Steven Carroll, The Gift of Speed) Do you remember water from the rock? How you quarried homes in this ancient soil, when these broad meadows were the stuff of dreams? Remember when the men came back from years and years ofContinue reading “At the Right Time (Glenroy Lent #8)”
The Dream of Being Local (Glenroy Lent #5)
Distance disturbs my orientation. When I calculate how long it takes from A to B, I live inside my cosy lie that B is only down the street, that all my life can be spanned by feet. But freeway exits dominate. I name streets and suburbs like family, yet these are not local, only yourContinue reading “The Dream of Being Local (Glenroy Lent #5)”
No Ghosts This Year #2
The walk home was generally a relief. Mark caught the bus home, so he wasn’t around to be a nuisance. And mostly Philip had the time to himself, to think and daydream. Sometimes he would take a book with him and try to read as he walked, but that was a hard thing to do.Continue reading “No Ghosts This Year #2”
Topography
…rediscovering, room by room, what it was that I first learned there about how high, how wide the world is, how one space opens into another… (David Malouf, 12 Edmondstone Street) How many of my dreams go to this place? Always the same Queenslander balconies where I wander over those drooping eaves in search ofContinue reading “Topography”
All our comings and our goings
Some wandered in deserts; I strayed Among Antarctic beeches and Bunya pine, Silver ferns and blood red soil, where I made Kingdoms and mountains from my trampoline. Some languished at sea; I saw an ocean Outside my window when the Easter rains Flooded the side path, and gazed at the scene In raptured delight. IContinue reading “All our comings and our goings”
Westgate Country
Did you know that Melbourne has a Brooklyn? Mostly factories, but behind the freeway Nestled amidst houses there’s a church, in Low-ecclesiastic cream brick. Today On my way to work I saw it, vacant Being Wednesday. But on Sunday there’s family. And I smelt the Spotswood Vegemite plant With its playful chimneys; a child mightContinue reading “Westgate Country”
The Consolations of Writing 