in a gadda da vida
(1) ablutions
the rituals
of baths
being scrubbed
washing of hair
eyes stinging
don’t recall
the first shower
standing solo
taking the reins
all the rites
of passage
become a blur
suds swirling
down a drain
(2) romper room
ready mister
music for
ode to joy
sounds better
in german but
english will do
we’ll look again
into a magic
mirror to see
the boys and
girls we were
those do bees
buzzing eager
to please
(3) in a gadda da vida
an overture
with sixties’
pastels before
colours turn
garish and
everyone takes
a virtuoso solo
childhood snaps
from pop song
simplicity into
puberty’s raw
complexity
testing every
boundary
dracula
(1)
no one
thought bram
had it in him
grew up by
the sea
at clontarf
after trinity
worked for
dublin castle
in london
he kept
the lyceum
afloat a very
dark horse
(2)
fin de siecle
yellow cover
a victorian
appetite for
the gothic
where jack
the ripper
was uncaught
blood lust in
newspapers
a jingoism
swaying to
the lilt of an
imperialist boot
(3)
sex was
the monster
that troubled
stoker most
on saint
george’s day
evil things
have their
sway big
and little
are mixed
a sign of
the cross
and crucifix
(4)
enter freely
and of your
own will
handshake
more dead
than alive
the count
based on
theatrical
henry irving
who held
bram in his
sway from
a tender age
(5)
a sea of
wonders
whitby where
he holidayed
with his family
esk river
the viaduct
abbey ruins
on a schooner
sway wooden
boxes with
mysterious
soil from
transylvania
Terry Wheeler - After graduating from law school in the late 1980s Terry worked in the Australian public service for decades. He was inspired to write after seeing Michael Dransfield poems in The Australian newspaper when a teenager. Terry has been published in Australia and abroad since retiring. He lives in Brisbane when not travelling.
Great poems, Terry! *Dracula* is one of my favorite books!
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