Preparing the Space

The first day of my home vacation.  I clean the outdoor chairs and coffee tables on both my back and front verandas, wiping them down repeatedly with a microfibre cloth.  With my yard broom I catch and remove the thick, old, uninhabited cobwebs binding the vines to my shelf of garden tools. I take the trowel and dig up my new French lavender, put it in a pot and place the pot on the front veranda where it will get the full sun I now know it needs.  I wash the frames of my front and back doors and dust the flywires. My holiday can begin.

(To be honest, it's not so much a vacation, though it will function that way too, as a spiritual retreat.)

Cane Town in Spring

Fields burnt dry;
a few with new shoots
already growing clumpy.

From the sugar mill
the smell
is sickly sweet.

The Sea Through the Window

The sea through the window is stormy; eerie, with patches of pale light.

Night Sounds

the gecko after dark

chirrups at my door

while inside the house

my cat chirrups too —
repetitive little calls

At Last My Frangipani

at last my frangipani

puts forth a few small blooms

The Beautiful Child Has Eaten

The beautiful child has eaten
what was in his bowl
and is asking for more.
This is the way of beautiful
children with four legs and fur.

The Foraging Ibis Bark

The foraging ibis bark.

One opens wide his beak

and emits a harsh tune:

Ack, ack, ack, AAAAH, ack,

repeats it exactly.

He meant it!

Jay Ungar (and Molly Mason and The Family Band) play Ashokan Farewell

he closes his eyes

over the notes

of his sweet violin —

haunting song of farewell
but his half-smile is bliss

Spring Has Arrived

The lorikeets are here!

With a quick shriek

two lights, bright green

dive out of the bottlebrush tree,

zap the air, skim the roof
and vanish.