Front page: 'Mother and baby
lead march.' Slim again
after your third, carried
snug on your chest.
Backyard picnic.
Red wine, hot debate.
The police helicopter passing.
Your bright face raised:
'Wave to ASIO!'
Dinner. Our favourite
food and music; goodbye kisses —
your farewell, we comprehended
when, two nights later,
you jumped into death.
Honey-blonde hair,
open smile, emphatic voice
rippling with quick laughter….
Never saw you cry.
[Poem #9]
Note: ASIO – Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Acronym pronounced AY-zee-oh.
This began as a game some bloggers played in 2008, to write about people who'd made an impact, in the same number of words as one's age, every day for a year. I did them less often and went on longer, adding one word each birthday. I stopped in 2016 and incorporated them into my main poetry blog. In 2019 I resumed the project and gave it its own blog again, with a new name, where it may unfold at its own (slow, intermittent) pace. I've labelled these verse portraits, but they're more like quick sketches: mere glimpses, impressions....
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