Sharing the circle of memory,
laughing, longing and living,
loss and corroboree’s dance,
and ‘welcome to country’…
an Italian husband,
bub-a-chinos for grandchildren,
an embodied female concrete poetry selfie,
and the issues of gender, race and class.

World war soldiers,
looking forward to war being won,
and Vietnam’s pilgrimage carved,
to women in black,
survivors remembering Kabul’s flowers,
and rockets…
counting the days till my Dad comes home,
and now he is a hero because he is dead.

Respecting safety,
bang… weapons,
and life is gone.

Fire breathing dragons and one last drink,
George and cutting off the dragon’s head,
to ever after, and living happily.

From Melawi to England as a nanny,
speaking posh, and a peg for the nose,
to saying Grace, then back home.

Magnets and chemistry meets physics,
explosions in London’s Underground,
a father back from the Western Desert,
John Lande stopping to help a running mate,
and Melbourne’s crowds that turn out.

The rock in the chest,
jutting and sticking,
Victorian volcanic blue stone as it
breaks reflections on the water’s edge.

The winner with twelve votes,
to the warmth of red,
gazing into turquoise view,
a mountain…love swept, music spinning,
the waiting one –

a mother’s love.

*Celebrating Poetry@fedsqure, 21st June 2014, Federation Square, Melbourne, featuring Western Union Writers, including Helen Cerne, Margaret Campbell, Chris Ringrose, Bronwen Hickman, Richard Dove, Bernadette Smallwoood, Bridh Hancock, Janet Howie, Kip Singh Chauli and Johnathan Griffiths and contributing others. LHB