Southern Aurora
the ship’s cat
stepping more lightly.

Sunset beach
waves at the children’s castle
coming and going.

pinging
to its dances of hail
our old tin roof

Still alive
on the bull ant nest
the scorpion’s sting.

insomnia
the whispering-in
of the lace curtains

Winters.
fogs have
their secret place,
the peeling shed, the rose
between the thorns, the shade
beside the path,the space that fills
old cars

Endless giggles
her kitten chasing
the wall’s torchlight.

I step away from
the long white tunnel
above the bed to fear of pain
the beyond is not yet yours
this love that says
you should go back

mothering us
with our breaths
the waves of the trees

On the pacific cruise
almost standing
a backbone of islands.

Sundial garden
the owl hoots
the cat away.

In the mirror
deflating on the floor
a child’s birthday balloons.