One Poem by Stephen House

 

now

i adjusted my attitude

in a quick thought this morning  

as i’m one for immediate changes

slowing down new directions

is a waste of time usually 

when enthusiasm is exploding in now  

i’ve been thinking lately

about how quickly time departs us

another year is now well underway

and with the speed that it’s travelling

paired with a major new issue 

my life could pass by fast as well

i sit outside under a kind sprawling tree

and chat with a magpie now my friend

we share our dreams with the sky

as the wind blows out tunes 

while a parrot watches closely 

with interest

 

in a house nearby i hear people fighting

screaming loud is now not what i need

traffic speeds past me

hip hop music beats blast

a kid dances   

and people gather and clap  

a skinny guy at a café

who i’m getting to know  

says things aren’t too good for him now

i show concern for his angst

so he asks me to sit down

and shows me photos of his cheating lover

a musician and i chat outside of the cafe

and have coffees i buy now’s my shout

we laugh at stories we make up

share some secrets we’ve kept

the skinny guy joins our table 

and cries

 

 

Stephen House has won many awards and nominations as a poet, playwright, and actor. He’s been commissioned often, with 20 plays produced, and many published by Australian Plays Transform. He’s received international literature residencies from The Australia Council for the Arts to Canada and Ireland, and an Asialink literature residency to India. He’s had two chapbooks published by ICOE Press Australia: ‘real and unreal’ poetry and ‘The Ajoona Guest House’ monologue. His poetry is published often. He has performed his acclaimed monologues widely. He had a play run in Spain for 4 years.