Waves

I cringe in a fringe of shadow
armed with sunblock, eyedrops;
an arsenal of medications

curled over a book of poems
fighting the wind's attempts
to kick sand in my face

now and again, I look up
see you dancing in the shallows
skipping over ripples of light

you taunt the sea, rush at it
then giggle and retreat
a tongue of surf licking at your heels

unafraid, you wade deeper
your thin brown legs
slicing through the water

the waves are like hurdles
you jump them with ease;
splash the surface with laughter

unable to drag you down
the waves foam in frustration
and collapse upon the shore

I look on, remembering a time
I too, would run at the waves;
youth and innocence, my only protection

Brats

it's not fair, she screams

banished to her bedroom
without ice-cream or sweets
she beats her pillow unconscious
pelts the floor with a storm of toys

her teenage sister counter-attacks
teeth clenched in a fist of words
slam against her Father's face
she spits knives across the table

he hurls his anger at the wall
bends pots and pans with bare hands
splinters his signature into the door
and bellows the anthem of his tribe

it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair

^

Biography

I am a South Australian writer of poetry and short fiction. My work has been published in numerous magazines and journals around Australia, and has appeared on both radio and the Internet. I am a member of Adelaide's long established Friendly Street Poets, where I read regularly. I am currently working on a first collection of poems, as well as a series of short stories. My poems have previously appeared in Electric Acorn.