arquious

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Pre-Christmas Cheer

Written 2023-11-23

In the early hours of Thanksgiving we received a distressing message that an uncle had just passed away in his sleep; suspected cardiac arrest. We hadn’t slept well through the night and now we are coming to terms with the ever widening implications of living after his demise. Just out of the lockdowns and all the craziness around the globe, we are looking at a somber Christmas. On top of that we will be arriving home on Boxing Day in less than ideal circumstances. It will surely be an interesting start to the upcoming year.
23 November, 2023

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Not in November

Written 2023-11-22

Here again, there again;
Staring at an empty page
Like a wait for a balloon 🎈
To pop 💥 as it rises high
Up it goes into the sky ☁️
In the end we won’t find
Out, nor shall we ever -
Never been that clever.

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May 2023

Written 2023-05-04

It's been a while since the last entry and we are facing yet another transition in our lives together as a family. The changes before us are great ones. Last month was the first anniversary of my father's passing and the memorial service had brought about yet another finality of us having to grow up and be orphaned in our adulthood.

There is also the matter of possibility, the possibility of having to undergo a drastic lifestyle change as to leave us quite financially destitute. And the blurry windscreen needs quite an effective wiper to bring a better view of what is coming towards us. At times it feels like these are karmic consequences of the ineptitudes of my past self; consequences of quite a few bumbling moves that have not been quite thought out.

It has been said that with age comes wisdom. The pain that accompanies the process is usually left out of the conversation. And the fact that we feel no less wiser is also another rough and tumble ride to go through. Perhaps the next entry shall be a bit brighter and somewhat lighter. So here goes.

The flowers are not keeping as long as they did during the cooler months. It might be a harsh summer this year so there is no time to be unprepared.

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February One 2023

Written 2023-02-01


One month in and it is too late to make plans for this year as a whole.
But there is still room to steer how the months go by and plan for next.
The bitter cold of this particular winter is not helping much. Where the
fluctuating emotional state plays havoc on writing conditions as it were.
There is much trepidation about the quality of writing during this time.

In other climes, it shall be the hottest (or close to the hottest) month
of the year and a time where people are maddest in the most aggressive
sort of way. Seeing as I am not situated in such a place at this point
there would be a good chance of dodging that bullet. But perhaps the
shrinking of the world through the internet and jet travel could still
throw a spanner into the works.

Much to look forward to, in any case. There is that slight tinge of
excitement as to what emerges once we navigate that bend or when
new revelations appear on the horizon.

Perhaps there might even be the beginnings of meaningful conversation.
We shall see.










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What was November like?

Written 2022-11-30

It has been quite a strange month. The change in clime was quicker and more intermittent than usual. Living away from home is never easy but with all that is and has been happening it is a bit more challenging.

Where we currently sojourn there is a rather belated typhoon season and with that the autumn colours have also burst out and the cold has come and gone.

Perhaps winter will be colder and perhaps there will be more snow than usual. But all the unseasonality is not very consoling nor assuring. Perhaps this has also reflected in the writings of this month.

There is also that silence in the writing and sharing process that one begins to get used to with online publishing. People have not reached out as much as they did in the past. And rather than ruminating on the possible causes for that writing and commenting shall continue for however long that will flourish.

But November is over and done with. A new month begins in the morning and there is tomorrow to look forward to.

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for November

Written 2022-11-02

It is the beginning of another month and it marks the wind down for this calendar year, 2022. At least it does for me. I am wondering at this juncture where the conversation and dialogue has gone here at the Bay.

On other sites there is much more chatter around and about the posts. It also has come to my attention that in the early days of the Bay a whole lot of younger folk made this their go to for poetry.

And with the changing of Seasons they gradually moved on with their lives and this type of poetry interaction eclipsed. Then came the era of silver haired wisdom and then lockdowns and restrictions.

There is also a lethargy these days, that of communication and interaction. Perhaps it shall again change. Because the days are shorter and the nights getting longer, and activity from the southern hemisphere is not what it used to be (it's Spring there at this writing).

For now I shall continue to write, post, and respond to other poems and hope for the best.

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from a conversation with our urban duck here at the bay.

café poetics

Written 2022-10-13

I see a beauty in the capacity and experience of carrying on a conversation with a complete stranger, eyeing the erosion of alienation and the taming of suspicion and the rather slow but fulfilling process building bridges of trust and faith which the world has so little of to start with. And what an awesome place to begin, at a café.

I also imagine the shop keeper to not be mindful of a néophyte or a connoisseur when it comes to coffee or conversation. Literature is lived and learned first outside of educational institutions. Again a bridge can and is being built by a team of language users from varied backgrounds from the remotest habitations to the most sublime of ivory towers.


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Happy Birthday Grandar

Written 2022-10-11

Had you been with us still it would have been your 111th birthday. Unthinkable theses days but in another time and place, even in the Scriptures, that was a typical enough age to be.
Many memories linger here even after 31 years of your passing. Perhaps deep inside I still feel that warmth and confidence when I was by your side. You picked us up when the sheriff came, like Robin Hood to Nottingham and took us to your Sherwood and gave us a whole forest in which to grow up in.
In many ways, too, you were the dad, the only one that we would ever get to feel and be acquainted with. Familiar still are the scent of Old Spice and the pipe tobacco that you allowed us to pack into that still warm wooden pipe or the froth topping your pint which we sheered off like marshmallows.
We loved motoring along in your trusty Vauxhall when you dropped us off at the pool and picked us up for an ice-cream later on.
Had you been with us still we would have been driving you around and spending sunsets and picnics between good days and hospital visits and other things that fill days when that age comes along.

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about the "third wheel" syndrome

Written 2022-10-05

That proverbial “third wheel” syndrome is almost a life companion.
And many, thought not all poets have had a brush with this.
It is a feeling that cannot be shaken off.
It appears to be a shamanic aspect of personality
and that is why the poet steps out of scene
and speaks to temporarily alleviate or mark
the unsuccessful attempt at eradicating this alienated feeling.

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a secondary entry on the same day, I remember that happening on occasion on very thought filled days.

Later that day

Written 2022-10-03

Many things can be read about a poet's world

and so much more lived through its creation

Many things can be said with a poet's pen

and so much more felt through its speaking

Maybe a time shall come when all of poetry

shall unfurl in a world that is lived poetically


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