Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged Entropy, Man vs Nature, Sisyphus, Taming Nature on November 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Our bush corner tamed by
Sandstone retaining walls terracing slope.
Along the fire trails we go
Rough and rocky
Search out sandstone crops
Dig it out, load it up.
Cut, shape & build.
War? Man vs Nature?
No.
A small corner controlled momentarily.
Quickly entropy rises, chaos erupts,
Like Sisyphus, begin again!!
Roger & Stephen battling it out with Nature. (probably around 1980)
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged Hydra, Lantana, Nature on November 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Fighting this felt like …
The bush pushes its presence.
Relentlessly.
Wildlife, plantlife
Beautiful, benign.
Noxious, toxic.
Lantana clearing before fire season.
Machetes cut swathes
Through tangle thorny vines
That bite back.
we were fighting this.
Rope roots, drag them out.
Burn it all! Vengefully.
Day’s end.
Scratched, cut, sore, spent.
Know we have not defeated
Our Hydra-like adversary.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged family, Local Celebrity, Ownership, Relationships on November 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Ahah! You’re Roger’s boy?
He’s became locally renowned.
First name sufficient identification,
Celebrity – it makes for myth.
Yes! I’m one of Roger’s boys.
Effusive praise, expert advise (footy)
Uncomfortable silence , sarcasm – or worse.
Change needed, playful and …
Mmmm! He’s Max’s father.
Or,
Weeelll! Roger’s Mum’s husband.
Language shift, relationships intact, ownership disrupted.*
Note:
* This game of mine sometime caused people to read different meanings into our family relationships. Some made assumptions that I was adopted or that Roger was my step-father.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged Burning Mouth, Chillis, First impressions on November 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The Chilli Plant
Front porch,
The ornamental chilli plant
Heavy with small round chillis.
Do you like chillis?
Yeah! But these look really hot.
No! Dad eats them by the handful.
Oh! OK.
Handful, mouth full.
I’m burning up.*
Water! Water!
J‘s cracking up.
Ice-cream tub devoured.
Pleased to meet you.
Successful early impression??
Note:
* Truth be known, I don’t think these chillies are excessively hot … but they were hot enough to demolish my bravado.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged jam, Nepean River, Riverbank. on November 26, 2012| 3 Comments »
Stroll to the night river
Difficult, overgrown.
Riverbank
By day, verdant.
Canopied, vines threading thick
Under-foot, wild growth.
At night, eerie beauty.
We take that stroll.
Easing down the steep path
I take her arm.
Gesture accepted.
Am I trembling?
Or is that tremor the shaky movement of time stopped?
The riverbank – today it looks manicured, then it was wild growth.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged energy, English Class, hyper, participation, Speed on November 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Cool & laid-back takes a back seat.
A compelling need to contribute launches
Sir! Sir!
Hands thrust up, … or not.
Garry, Max what’s got into you today?
Blood pumping, rushing oxygen around – at speed,
Everything awake, alert, charged, hyper-…
Keep moving, keep talking,
Or pressure builds
Our hearts will burst.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged isolation, peace, quiet, waiting on November 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Peace & quiet
Sometimes isolating, wistful.
Distant city lights beckon
Transport timetables broken down
(ie Mum’s using her car).
Sit, watching still river waters
Mirroring the moon
Listening:
Music …
And for the muffled engine that precedes
Headlights, high-beam,
Piercing through black trees.
Stillness disturbed.
Announcing.
Friend(s)?
Couple seeking privacy?
Someone lost?
Extra:
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged El Alamein Fountain, King's Cross, Metro Theatre, proposition, theatre on November 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Sitting, waiting at the El Alamein I felt at home.
Sitting at the El Alamein
I like this place
Where I’m waiting for
Arrival of classmates – English excursion,
The Metro Theatre, Kings Cross
The Metro Theatre, Kings Cross.*
An “old” man sits down.
Acknowledgement – nod, smile,
Prompts invitation
In language confronting
To join him … for his enjoyment.
Meekly: “I’m only a schoolboy!”.
Classmates arrive! On time!
Note:
* I can’t recall why Ms Purcell & Mr Young had arranged for a visit to this theatre. They were intent on opening our eyes and minds and took every chance to place us in a more urban, vibrant context. Conversations (some 40 years after the event) with Jenny, Ruth, & Garry suggest it may have been Man of La Mancha. I’m not sure. I think Hair! was performed in this theatre but that was a few years earlier than this event.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged common room, football, hockey, maturity, shared facilities on November 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Conceding growing maturity
Of the school AND
The student body.
Senior students* allocated
A common room.
Undergoing functional flexibility
It quickly becomes
Change room for
Senior boys football and
Senior girls hockey,
Simultaneously.
Frowns of form masters indicate
Genders “stripping down” together
Does not constitute maturity.
Common room becomes UNcommon.
Note:
* The room may have been a Prefect’s Room rather than a Senior Students Common Room. I can’t recall.
Posted in Nepean High School, Riverside Rd, tagged Bill Cosby, football, Frivolity, Hofstra, Nut Squad, Temple University on November 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Strong identification with footballing exploits
Of Bill Cosby*.
What fun if we could emulate
Temple Nut Squad antics.
Katoomba kicks off,
A NHS teammates gathers, runs
Wrong direction
Singing: Woop-woop-woop-woop
Sounding like Curly from The 3 Stooges.
All agog, stunned.
We crack up, then settle down & play.
Coach Ellem leaves, disgusted.
Note:
This is Bill Cosby talking about his footballing days with Temple University.
365 Short Memories 