Jacaranda
it seems everything this year
challenges the Jacaranda
**
In spring its hidden buds
endure a drought
**
then whipping winds and rain
inflict a thrashing
**
today in the foyer of summer
in regal glory it stands
**
its clusters of purple
touch the deep blue sky
**
passers-by halt as if they hear it speak 
a language they seek to decipher
**
and there is a communal nod
for the earth’s generosity
Colleen Keating
Having a few days in Cairns with the Keating,
being there for Josh’s birthday, and having time
with the family especially Lachie and Cammie was fun
and one of the highlights of last month.
My Christmas poem for 2018 was seeded there (on next post)
and I had great fun writing poetry with the boys.
One of our highlights was our walk through the Cairns Botanical Gardens
by Lachlan and Grandma
Cairns
By Lachlan Keating
The thing I like about the tropics
is the vegetation
The coloured leaves amaze me
pink, red, purple and white
mottled, patterned dotted and striped
so you think leaves are only green
with chlorophyll to catch the sun
well come here with us all of you
to the tropics and have some fun
and you will be amazed too.
*********
Two to three
by Lachlan Keating
From our balcony
in the palm tree
last night we saw a nest
With two eggs
This morning
the mother was on the nest
but when she flew off
to sit on a nearby branch
there were three eggs!
( The story didn’t end there. Lo and behold the next morning there were four eggs.
When we did our research we discovered she is a Friar Bird. Friar birds lays one egg a day, laying from two to five eggs. Yet five eggs is very rare. Did we have a rare bird? We waited till this morning and when she left her nest to sit on a nearby branch and sing her morning song there were still four. So she is special but not rare . Now she will sit for many hours a day to incubate the eggs and they will hatch in about 28 days. I wish we could stay in our Air B&B till then but we have to leave this beautiful sight at the end of the week. Maybe the next guests will enjoy the developments )
The Blue Balloon
The Blue Balloon
by Lachlan Keating
In the pool
we had a blue balloon
we blew it up
got the end
and pulled it down
half way under the water
and we let it go
wham!
it flew up into the sky
we got a shock it went so high!
Tricking Grandma
by Cameron Keating
When Grandma was resting
on the towel
I snuck over to the pool
and filled my balloon up
with water and air
then I crept back
over to Grandma
and squeezed
the balloon really hard
and sprayed water
all over Grandma.
Waterfalls
by Grandma, Lachie and Cammie
We swim in the cold wet gorges
and it is fun,
diving and jumping off rocks,
playing in the sun.
Splashing under waterfalls
resting on warm ledges
we listen out for bird calls.
The sign says no crocodiles
for miles and miles and miles,
but we still look out
and keep our eye about.
When you swim in gorges
in the month of May
the splashing water falling
is lots and lots of fun
jumping in in such a ball
but later, some say
when the dry comes in
and there is a very hot sun
it would be a miracle
to see a cascading waterfall
Territory Day
by Lachlan and Cameron Keating
edited and typed by Grandma
Alice was on fire
on Territory Day.
Boom buzz bang
wham whiz whirl
kabam pop bomb
surprises
twist and twirl
the sky lit up
red like fire
purple like blueberries
green like grass
and blue too
it was such fun
all colours of the rainbow
orange and yellow too
like stars and balls of sun.
****
( A small poem originating in Japan.) It consists of three lines
Line 1 has a beat of 5
Line 2 has a beat of 7 and
Line 3 has a beat of 5
This is good for the boys as they learn to count the number of beats
and to think of a story and have the discipline of the form. However Modern Haiku like to write less then 5 – 7 – 5.
The first two Haiku were written by the boys for their home schooling.
Birds
flocks of colour glide
wings flapping swooping diving
flying feathered friends
Lachlan Keating
Water
deep pools of water
floating flowing tingling skin
cold splash kicking fun
Cameron Keating
More haiku by Cammie and Grandma having fun
blue Cassowary
in the Daintree National Park
walking on our track
***
Cassowary bird
you surprised us in the bush
with your tiny chick
***
munching little fish
an humongous crocodile
while we were watching
***
vicious crocodile
with sharp teeth and scaly skin
we won’t swim with you
***
scary crocodile
we know you are hiding
in that swimming hole
It is a tradition for members of the Society of Women Writers NSW to send their published books to the Editor of Women’s Ink (Judith O’Connor),for review. I was honoured to have my poetry collection Fire on Water reviewed by Judith in the Winter Edition. Now I have been invited to review Ramah Juta’s book One Woman’s Journey Published in the Summer Edition Women’s Ink November 2018
A REVIEW BY COLLEEN KEATING
Women’s history has been almost invisible. Up till this century, the stories of women were seldom included. Virginia Woolf opened doors for women by telling her stories – she helped women to get in touch with the impact of being marginalised, exploited, and invisible. She said “As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world”
So it was with delight I received Ramah Juta’s book ‘One Woman’s Journey’ for review.
The King Protea filling the cover with its soft pink-grey petals caught my attention. This incredible flower from South Africa is an apt symbol , its name coming from one of the gods of the sea. Ramah’s story captures the reader. Through her personal story of grit and resilience, she weaves the history of a disturbing and inspiring time – the final upheaval of India, and Gandhi, the British indentured Indians to Africa, ‘Passenger-Indians’ to South Africa, Indian brides, apartheid and the hope of Mandela on the horizon, finally migration to Australia.
J. K. Rowling says : “ There is always room for story that can transport people to another place” And Ramah transports the reader of her journey with rich detail.
As a young Indian bride in South Africa she writes of her mid-wife,
‘A deep vertical furrow ran down the centre of her forehead. Wrinkles fanned out from the corners of her eyes and curved on to her cheeks. A good set of teeth was stained from chewing betel leaf. Prominent veins snaked their way down her forearms to her hands. She smiled, held my hand in her rough work-worn palms.’
We are present in India, in her formative years and also in South Africa with her sensual descriptions of colours, sounds, smells and tastes.
“ . . the green of the mango contrasting against the reddish, yellow oil. The smell of the spices lingered in the air for nearly a week.”
“I took a big sharp knife and cut the formidable fruit. i peeled its free knobbly skin , cut it into cubes with gravy, frying the onions in oil, adding tomatoes, spices, ginger and garlic. Then i added the jackfruit and let it simmer. Kripa guzzled it down.”
“Chaya flitted around in the kitchen plying him (Taroon) with fluffy dokra which he gorged with dollops of tongue tingling tamarind chutney”
I always find cultural and religious words add colour to a story and ‘One Woman’s Journey’ is no exception. The glossary at the back is valuable.
Raman quotes Khalil Gibran,
‘The entire earth is my homeland and the human family is my clan’
And this is as it is. With the slow transformation of the closed world of the family as the younger generations embrace a wider world – yet a rich chameleon of culture and religious ways are still embedded deeply in the psyche. An important reminder that new arrivals must never be discouraged from being their unique selves as they embrace the land of the bight red King Protea, the Waratah .
Colleen Keating is a published and award-winning poet.
I like this apple photo that mum took.
It was fun as I wrote some lines to inspire me
waiting for apples to fall on my head like Isaac Newton.
United
Atmosphere of earth
pulling us all together,
all the countries together,
uniting us as one big planet,
making us stronger
in wealth and hope.
Uniting us all as one
wealthy in hope
wealthy in wonder
wealthy in friendship
never to be broken.
All is one,
all are special.
Everything we believe
is alive in our hearts.
So fill your hearts with wonder,
fill your hearts with joy.
Always believe when others may not.
All your thoughts and wonders
go to God . . . he collects them
and marvels at them.
They have power
They master your destiny
It is all about the right path
Thomas Keating-Jones
OCTOBER WORKSHOP
Finding the Poetic to make your writing shimmer
COLLEEN KEATING
Lots of inspired sharing and laughter filled the room as a passionate group of writers
explored ways of using the poetic to make their writing shimmer.
One of our learnings was that when our writing is lucid and perceptive it shines with meaning, something all of us wish for our work.
Together we reflected on the power of awareness, bringing us always back to the present moment. We discussed how our mind is being colonised all the time and came up with constructive ways of decolonising our mind to become listeners to the breath of the universe.
We looked at the maxim: Lessons from a Tree
1. Stand tall and strong 2. Go out on a limb. 3. Remember your roots
4. Drink plenty of water 5. Be content with your natural beauty 6. Enjoy the view.
Together we collaborated to listen and hear the advice from the tree for our writing.
Our exercise on Active Seeing brought our room in the State Library alive with new insights to energise writing.
We listened to the words of poets for their poetic sense that shines the light. Mary Oliver ’s poetry, the exquisite metaphorical writing of Edna St. Vincent Millay and Emily Dickinson , the sustained metaphor in ‘Surender’ by the Blue Mountains poet Vanessa Kirkpatrick, the felt sound in Robert Frost and Adrienne Rich with her powerful poem ‘Diving into the Wreck,’
in which we mused over her words, “I want the wreck itself not the story of the wreck, the thing itself and not the myth.’
We talked about a writer always cultivating a sense of wonder, as Alice says in Alice in Wonderland “curiouser and curiouser!” We discussed the magic of language and closed with a writing exercise To create fresh metaphors. Our sharing had us marvelling at how metaphors strike unexpectedly and how they work to help our writing shimmer .