Sunkisses

Sunkisses
Like erin cream upon which tipped

the dappled shade of a eucalypt

as hens are speckledy

Such blessings as the sun exudeth

now adorn my lovely judith

Oh! Let me your freckle be

(Winner Geraldton Guardian Valentine Competition 2008)

Small Parts
There are those on whom fatherhood is thrust, and others whom find it easy. Natural parents who make a study of the open handed discipline. Big actors with small parts. Which am I? Today your mother was busy when we trawled through a house that looked like Dresden in the wake of a Lancaster. Today between interruptions I happened to glance up and see your face. Was it I who taught you that patient self assurance? The silence between us a little long. Then a peculiar expression like a burglar when the lights come on. Your eyebrows shot up like an owl asking for an obituary. As I pounded between your shoulder blades the stumps of your ungrown wings to find the the slice of banana (ages three and up) I prayed for the first time. It was I, after all, who taught you this arrogance - Allah is our air. For this and every breath you take, I give thanks. ]