Berlin und so weiter

This city represents something undefined
Maybe just out of reach
A moment feeling like i'm standing on the edge of the world
On the little bridge over the tracks by Warschauerstrasse U Bahn station,
A spectator to a broken bottle apocalypse 

Kicking in round three in the morning most weekends. 

Struggling to understand why mascara is de rigeur for the young women and ladies of this nation 

Perhaps i should do some interviews.
Musing at Katarina from my hostel room who says only Bavarians know real beer
Today I have woken still weary 

Gratefully not drunken
Last night was tempted to follow the beautiful young European things 

As they headed for the clubs round 2 or 3 in the morning
Bed seemed more attractive in a different way...
This morning wandered over the Oberbaumbrucke
Across the Spree to arrive at Chert gallery on Skalitzer Strasse near Schlessisches Tor
Standing before images of large scale shooting gallery target practice portraits from the United States hanging in lines from the gallery ceiling.
This is raw and confronting at this time of morning

Brutal connotations

Now I miss Berlin

Back on the other side of the world

Reminiscing

The smell of piss in the corners

Near misses time and time again

As bicycles fly by

Carelessly stepping over the nominated pavement lanes to semi catastrophe

Street scavengers pour the dregs of empty beer bottles out by our feet

As we queue for nightclub entrances

Cunningly concealed behind veneers of graffiti smeared concrete walls

And nondescript doors

A few monstrous derelict powerstations 

Industrial audio bunkers

Solid towers of speakers nestled deep within

Laced with red, blue and multichromatic beams of light

Little legions of young techno heads and handfuls of old electro stalwarts

Writhing and bounding to solid thumping beats

Hovering through frequency modulation

Pitch and tempo shifts

Fading into a smoky haze

Different corners of this town host surreal monuments in parks

Odd aesthetic anomalies

Legacies of the east and west divide

Fragments of broken history

Yellow shunting U Bahn trains with odd wallpaper style window decorations

A lively assortment of mobile musical buskers and panhandlers onboard

Bullet trains, regional connections, S Bahns, Intercity lines

Crisscrossing the multi layers of the silvery hi tech Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Polite well behaved canine passengers sit beside their masters on the high speed ICE trains

Central Berlin

Flat

Highrise steel and glass veneers

Copious ongoing constructions in the works

Or seemingly in limbo

A landscape dotted with crane towers

And walls of scaffolding

Draped in plastic sheets

Eulogy for Nan

Dear Nan,

We will miss you.

It is sad to think that you are no longer with us but I have so many good memories of times I spent with you.

On holidays as a child I would visit you and Pop in North Beach.

You were always welcoming, warm and affectionate, with lots of hugs and treats, always making me feel at home. I would always feel comfortable and safe spending time with you .

I remember many trips down to the beach with you and lots of the other cousins, swimming at Mettams Pool, playing in the sand and making sand castles.

Another time in my early teens you sat on the beach with mum anxiously watching me getting thrown around in the waves when I was learning to surf.

As a kid you took me on lots of special outings to Karrinyup and on the bus into the city.

You would take me to the movies and the shops, quite often with little presents here and there, occasionally into the old department stores for a haircut or to see father christmas.

Once staying with you on holiday I woke up one morning and could barely move.

You didn't fret or worry. You simply picked me up and carried me into the lounge room, wrapped me in a blanket and lay me down in front of the morning cartoons on television, then came back with a warm mug of milo and biscuits. As the day went by I began to move again - it turned out to be just a 24 hour virus - but a moment like that reminds me of how you cared for all of us so much.

You were always pleased when any of us came to visit, meeting us at the door with hugs and kisses on the cheek. The mantel pieces and cabinets in Sholl Ave and your unit in Trigg always had photos of the cousins and family gatherings proudly on display. Sometimes you would refer to Malcolm and Kevin as my boy or my baby and joke that they were looking a bit skinny and you needed to get them to visit so you could fatten them up !

There are so many other special moments I remember but what comes to mind now is your positive and loving spirit.

You were so giving and caring.

You had a heart of gold.

My times with you will always be remembered as a very special part of my life.

Rest in peace dear Nan.

Stretching South Coast

So far away seem your pale thin trees

Crooked and curved

Waxy blue green leaves

Gently stretched out

Your white grey rocks

Flaking layers to the sky

The Barren of the East

Above sweeping blue green curves

Fringed with white

Speckled with foam and dark weed

High Powered Zone

Welcome to this high powered zone called Cape Tribulation.

Certain things will disappear

when your soul emerges here.

Deep hills. Dark shadows beneath the canopy.

Pale tinged leaves seemingly dusted by snow.

Crocodiles at home in the curvy creeks.

Murky mangrove sand on the fringe of this wide brown land,

here green tinged and grand.

Questions arise in my soul like birds coming in to roost as I take in

this new landscape.

My home, the southern ocean land, far from here.

I bid farewell to a lover,

And walk into a new dream...

Weird and wonderful.

Beyond prediction.

Watch the stinging tree.

Behold the fruits of the forest.

Divine the calm of the landscape.

These green cathedrals are your religion.

Welcome newcomer. Cleanse your soul in the rain.

... ______SkyDream

That craving... 
Being in airports... 
Flying in planes... 
Being part of the rippling masses of people coming and going... 
The aftertaste still lingers
My appetite stirs
Memories incomplete
Unfinished
A strange menu

Departures   
Arrivals   
Check-in 
Identification
Passport
Tickets
Security    
Scanning
The rumbling of jet engines in the background 
deep inside the terminals
Ticket counters illuminated in a colourful mosaic 
of glowing airline logos
Caravans of passengers with baggage trailing behind
Security guards, guns in holsters, marching in threes
Luggage trolley buggies with flashing orange lights circling around the planes below

Waiting

Boarding

Then strap in
Rev up
Screaming engines taking to the sky

Up above the clouds you have the opportunity to dream
To reflect
To delve deeper inside 
Or to just sit back in the fantasy of it all
Men and women in strange costumes offer you curiously presented edibles
There are games with pencils
And mysterious paper bags which you can fill 
with whatever you choose

Fitful slumber
Time in limbo

Cruising in the darkness
Slowly dropping away

Cities below brooding and pulsating
Twinkling lights layering the darkness

You descend into the network
Night time game boards laid out with colourful beacons

Coming in to land
Anticipation thick in the air
The moments just before touching down

Disembark
Clustered queues preparing to leave the womb of the silver beast
Urgency fuelled by impatience
We exchange simple words for grounding

Thank you for flying with our carrier
Have a pleasant day/ night/ holiday/ 
business deal/ social engagement/ 
family reunion/ emotional breather/ 
whirlwind affair/ 
revelation/ 
nervous breakdown

Acquaint yourself with a new place 
Seek out the familiar features in an unfamiliar landscape

The fascination or the alienation rising inside you
As you step into a new climate
A new geography
A new concept

Dogs Go Surf

We see the leaping little stocky black dog

Down the steps she goes

He goes ?

Pinky purple collar with cute motifs

Many a dog coming with us to ride the waves

We do not know them

But they certainly like the company

Happily sitting all over my dad's lap

Though might not know them from a bar of soap

Certainly friendly tails wagging

Tongues drooling

Shaggy wet fur dragging arround...

Merely spectating

The hallowed moment

The closing of the holy challis upon the flowing green ribbon

The heavy slamming purchase of double barrel beer can shotguns punctuating the gravel bed vibrations

Descending four wheel drive monsters

The subtle perfume of the coastal heath

Overpowered for a moment

Sinking under twelve tonnes of man stench...

The galvanised iron warriors embark on their glorious sea battle

Man against wave

And every dog for himself

A far-from-usual Day at Sleepy Hollows

Old Sleepy Hollows Retirement Village was a nice place to kick back and take it easy

But there was nothing quite so retiring about old Gerald when he got a bit restless

The cornucopia of pharmaceutical medication provided by the friendly nurses helped the time pass on the slow days,

Even offering some spectacular visions that really spiced things up,

But somehow Gerald wanted something more...

Occasionally over a game of cards in the sitting room Sweet old Esmay Moore's blouse came slightly undone

And revealed her still bountiful curves,

But Viagra was hard to come by

And the chief nurse matron ruled with an iron fist.

What Gerald missed was that shot of adrenaline...

One night watching the television he saw muscular young men riding giant waves on far off tropical islands and it got him thinking.

* * * *

The next morning it was bright and sunny.

After an invigorating jaunt to the park on his gopher Gerald could feel the speed beneath his wheels as he came down the hill back to the village.

The garden features began to rush by faster and faster.

Gerald began to imagine himself on a big blue glassy wave flying down the line over a Hawaiian coral reef.

He hit the entrance ramp with such speed that he became airborne.

He flew towards the front door just missing one of the older retirees as he was ambling out with his walking stick.

Gerald rocketed through the doorway and for a moment he imagined he was a surfing god, screaming through the biggest barrel of his life.

He ploughed into the flower arrangement in the middle of the foyer and came to a crashing halt.

Kowabunga he murmured and fell to the floor, staring at the ceiling with a rapturous grin, then passed out.

Nurse matron Shirley Blackstrap stepped forth, glaring down at him ominously. “Well, no shot of adrenaline for you then old boy!”

Gerald spent the rest of the day recovering.

* * * *

The next day after having had a good rest Gerald was treated to a visit by his enthusiastic and energetic grandson Jared.

Gerald told him all about his wild adventure.

Ohh Grandpa, that sounds hilarious !

You went through the door like it was a wicked barrel!

Haw ! That sounds fully sick !!

Getting shacked in the green room then you got fully nailed !!!

What's that Jared?

A shack? Nails ? Making a shed ?

I don't know what you're talking about !