Five Poems by David J. Delaney

 

Time no longer Rules

 

I’m relaxing as the darkness grows,

while a cavalcade of stars appear

and through the gums, gold moonlight glows,

as noisy crickets chirp quite near.

The campfire crackles with a gentle flame

for now the billy’s piping hot,

and camping where our Brothers came,

perhaps here on this very spot.

No longer do I wear a watch,

no longer does time rule my life,

for at day’s end I sip my scotch,

enjoying life now with my wife.

We’ll sit and watch the sunsets,

their orange and bright purple hues,

and while we both have no regrets,

there’s nothing left to lose.

We love this life, don’t get me wrong, 

and have each other and our van,

trying to avoid the cities throng,

often travelling without a plan.

I’d work wherever we would stop,

this was our goal, our golden plan,

but Ménière’s was hard to cop

and made me feel less than a man.

No longer could I be employed,

to support our goal, our dream. 

Because a wage was now devoid,

I started loosing self-esteem.

My Darling watched my slow demise,

and even when I hit the grog.

She was there sunset and sunrise,

Also the time I saw, “black dog”.

The pensions not a full on wage,

but we’re managing I suppose.

And sometimes it is hard to gauge,

where all the money, “up and goes”

Our caravan is now our home,

a permanent abode on wheels

it’s hard to save so we can roam

and camp where there’s the cheapest deals.

 

It’s not a glam life, that’s for sure,

but still some people think we’re rich.

So where we move, we will endure,

and settle where we might unhitch.

 

I’m relaxing as the darkness grows,

while a cavalcade of stars appear

and through the gums, gold moonlight glows,

who knows how long we might stay here.

 

 

 

 

Male Dilemma

Approaching now with trepidation
Heart thumping anticipation
Brow soaked in perspiration
Throat tightening asphyxiation.

Echoed voices, feeling fearful
Clouded mind now in freefall
Transfixed eyes becoming tearful
How can she be quite so cheerful?

Just in there! She softly motions
Brain is racing with emotions
Scented whiff from bottled lotions
Perfumed aroma drifts from potions.

Trembling hands begin to reach
Wishing I was at the beach
Sacred law, I’m about to breach
Remembering, what Dad did preach

I can’t do it, collapsed in beanbag
Feeling like a rung out dishrag
To all you men, keep reading a mag
Never, delve into a woman’s handbag.

 

Why I Live where I Live 

 

 

I love it here in our far north and Cairns is where I now reside

where poets always find their muse and life is mostly lived outside.

Our Winter’s can’t be classed as cold though sometimes drops to eight degrees

and Mexicans just can’t believe what we call ‘cold’ or ‘nippy breeze’.

 

Most mornings here in paradise are mesmerizing pinkish blues

then in the evening at days end we finish with light purple hues.

While, right here in my own backyard where rainforest and beaches meet,

you’ll stroll the winding forest tracks within a tropical retreat.

 

Where Blackbean and the Silky Oak, Red Cedar and the Kauri pine,

Cathedral fig and Quondon trees have grown as long as ‘Old man time’.

There’s golden Penda and tall Gums with ancient Elkhorn by the score,

and scaly tree ferns everywhere while crystal creeks wind through the floor.

 

Now if you watch with eagle eye you’ll spot some Bennets Kangaroos,

or hear a white lipped tree frog croak and screeching sulpur Cockatoos.

While higher in the canopy a Lesser Sooty Owl now darts

and swoops towards a white tail rat, which senses danger and departs.

 

And all the while there’s butterflies like Birdwing and the Swallowtail,

Ulysses and Helena Brown’s (now don’t they all just seem so frail)

Boyd’s dragon and the Bandicoot, the Swiftlet and the Lorikeet

all these creatures share our forest, and every single one’s unique.

 

I haven’t mentioned golden shores which stretch as far as one can see

or, swimming on our untouched reef and named the life beneath the sea.

There’s many more that I could name and so much more that I could share

but why not view this for yourself our beauty is beyond compare.

 

I’d like to keep this poem short but it’s a little hard to do

because, there’s so much beauty here I want to share with all of you.

And while I sit surrounded in my world that’s still quite primitive,

I hope my poem gave a glimpse – “Why I love living where I live”.

 

 

 

 

Waking

 

 

Stirring in my swag,

aroused to morning sounds.

 

Water trickling,

lorikeets screech, chatter,

bush turkeys scratch, grunt,

early trill of cicadas.

 

smell.

 

Freshness of eucalypt gums,

wild flowers,

smokey embers.

 

Eyes opening.

 

Kaleidoscopes

of sunlight shards

pierce diminishing mist,

a small cloud of pale blue smoke

hovers above smouldering campfire,

water trickles over rocks,

lorikeets search for nectar,

turkeys eat breakfast grubs,

cicadas frozen to trunks,

kangaroos drink.

 

Hypnotised by nature,

Still I lie, not wanting to move,

 

How long will I stay?

 

How long?.

 

 

Captured Moments

 

Driving home from work, 
radio station is playing our favourites, 
the corner of my mouth lifts slightly
into a half smile 
as I smell bacon, 
cheese carbonara 
and satay chicken kebabs;
the computer is still on facebook 
my darling, sitting in the papasan, 
watching Deal or no Deal. 

Now home
I walk inside, 
drop my bag on the floor 
next to the kitchen bench
then, I start cooking bacon and cheese carbonara 
while placing the satay chicken kebabs in a different pan.

The smell is not the same, 
the computer and TV are silent, 
and the papasan is empty. 

I miss you darling.

 

 

 

 

David J. Delaney - Now in his late 60’s, David left school at 15 years old only 3 months after “making” grade 8. This has been in many ways a drawback involving his literary goals since he only starting “writing” in late December 2007 and it has been a huge learning curve for him. He is still tackling how verbs, adjectives, nouns, syllables, etc, work.

As a poet, and recently a memoire/short story writer, he has had wonderful support, in Cairns, Queensland, Australia and worldwide. His love for writing and the impact it has on everyday people, has, definitely been an inspiration to continue with something he honestly enjoys, and, if this inspires one person to write and or showcase their work, then he has done his job.