Stretch into tomorrow

outside the kitchen door a few broken egg shells on the floor
I cup them in my hand 
look up at the mud nest hugging the wall 
baby swallows have emerged
parents zoom in and out in and out in and out.

welcome swallows 
back in July they turned up and began the renovation 
a bit early I thought
but one tiny dob of mud at a time they added to the nest wall.

life it’s a miracle 

these small soft shells held the future of beak eyes wings feathers
of migration nest building food gathering,
this small soft shell held a vulnerable being not much larger than a walnut 
made of soft bones and the promise of flight.

on ground level skinks are leaving their hidey holes and lying about in the Sun
chasing each other in a never ending flash of bronze scales .

baby wallabies and baby kangaroos bounce past gazing out from their pockets 
the tribe growing bigger since The Fire reduced their numbers.
trees ignited by that fire now densely packed coppices
push against gravity to reach the Sun, to seed and bear fruit.

spring bounces along with verve and commitment in The Forest.
and beyond that fear is welded in place
and coercion is perfectly justified.
one has to inquire
since when did sickness become a crime?

elderflower opens
no discrimination
giving all.

…. … …. …
time to be attentive 
to remember who we are.
Rise and shine 
stretch into tomorrow with open heart and mind
make the world a brighter place
make it happen
for yourSelf.

Hari om

lock down lock up lock on

Sunday south east coast NSW Australia

first day of lockdown
I tell the magpies
spread the word
flocking together is banned
a tilt of the head
a quizzical look
throat opens and a ripple of pure sound pours forth.

I tell the bush rats they have to leave
we are only allowed five visitors or is it none?
hard to keep up with “The Rules”
too bad they answer
stealing another cake of my homemade soap from the washbasin.

gosh not much interest in the forest
no social distancing in the bottle brush
forget sanitiser
and masks look plain ridiculous on birds
so…….
a human only affair then.

the hills rivers clouds in the sky
continue Being
the raven flies across the valley
calling out
frogs at the dam chorus rain is coming
next door Warren and the tractor are busy.

how many realities are there?
what if there is no one size fits all?
what if it is a mosaic of brilliant orchestrated pieces
interconnected in a design we are unable to fathom?
what if this moment of breath is what we own?
And what if we are co-creating this lockdown drama?

what then?



the peach blossom acknowledging spring is here.