(I didn’t get to all of these on the day
Road Train Dust. Written by Glen Parsons, 26th May 2021
The road is long ,
the road is tough,
the old bloody Utes body,
Looking pretty rough
twisting and turning
The Utes tray
With Old fence droppers lay in the back
Covered up by and old hessian sack
as it hit the corrugation,
I end up with rattling bones,
Singing Willies song
on that bloody road
The roadtrain in my mirror,
The road full of dust
As I pull over
to be covered in a trail of dust
Cattle crying out
It’s the market we go
From that roadtrain Dust
On that dusty road
Sibling Diversity
Four siblings considered
Same gender
Similar but oh so different.
Another four, as well
All the same gender
Similar but again so different.
The first group older women,
The second group men in their prime.
How does this inform us?
Genetic difference in both
Sisters and brothers share traits
Experience varies more.
No answers here, of course
Nature versus nurture never resolved
Questions always remain.
“Oh, I know the type”
Some people will say it
Many more think this.
But we never really know “the type”
Know our assumptions we do,
Conclusions reached without knowledge.
Commonalities are widespread
Similarities in our face,
Underneath all different.
Blithely many proceed
With their assumptions and bias
Not the individual considering.
No one of this is totally free
We all nurture prejudice in our core,
Awareness of this the biggest step.
Listening to others the path ahead,
How do they feel about what they say?
What have I learned about them?
Conclusions reached in haste
Always have flaws
Rarely hit the mark.
But even time does not suffice
Curiosity needs to remain
What more can I understand?
Brian Matthews, 11/7/21
Distance
From little ones we get so much
Their squeals, their joy,
That dreadful cough.
Noses seem to drip
A constant stream
Delaying yet another trip.
But do we isolate and avoid
These tiny germ breeders
No, the smiles and laughs are deployed.
Some can spurn this temptation
As with slobbering dogs
‘Nothing will invade my nation!’
But I truly fail to see
How such behaviour
Could apply to me.
The magnetic pull of a little one
Leads my best plans
To come undone.
Their joy in living in the now
Destroys my resolve
Changing this I can’t see how.
Reminding self to protect
A hopeless gesture
Which I invariably reject.
In unusual times we do face
Distance and disinfection
Our own health embrace.
Where we draw a line to choose
The contact we will have
And that we’ll lose.
Brian Matthews, 7/7/21
Cold Weather
The cold air crisp
The heater going
Dealing with the colder weather
Not much resilience I’m showing.
In my youth coldness seemed
A brief interruption
No real impediment
To that which I dreamed.
Now it sinks into my frame
Sidelining my motivation
Delaying that I wish to do
Seeking only the flame.
Vary we all do
In ways that we react
To hot and cold both
How we see the weather through.
But age adds another layer
As we move through life
Doing this and that
Less likely the robust swagger.
Brian Matthews 7/7/21
Memories
The Year Book’s out,
I’m with a friend.
This person, and that,
This memory and not that.
How it tugs at you,
The memories you have,
Or not at all,
It seems so strange.
Some things will stick,
A face and name,
And others it seems,
You’ve not met at all.
Thus it is with memory,
As with much of life,
We’ve not truly experienced it,
Without sharing something.
But memories which are shared,
Are so often somewhat different.
Objective reality seems a fantasy,
As does objective truth.
Brian Matthews 11/3/19
To My Once Wife
My calendar reminds me
That many years ago
My Once Wife drew first breath
And first faced the day.
Almost 50 years hence
We were wed
13 at the small event
Surely an omen
Of things yet to come
But four boys came forth
And almost 25 long years
Mixed with blessings and tears
Followed by times harsh
That distanced us both
But after some years
Reconnection did grow
Through issues shared
Family crises for one
Family events another
Until Now Wife can say
On a recent Christmas day
Let‘s have a photo
Of Brian and his two Wives
And all laugh
And photo shared.
It doesn’t always this way go
And some find it strange
But I am very happy
I can now share with her
On each special day
Brian Matthews, 1/8/2020
For Mum
My tears will be spent
But not the hole in the heart rent
Remember you we will
When the sun rises and birds sing
Your spirit lives on
Though your body failed
In every smile you shared
You will live on…
One of a kind
Such a presence
So full of life
That smile and laugh
Never to be seen again.
Memories flood my mind
Of childhood wrangles
And family occasions
Weddings of his daughters.
Living so far away
But always present for me
The long, long phone calls
And photos of his darlings.
Such tall tales he told
And most were true
The things he said
And what he did.
Such a quick ending
Gone in a flash
Like his father before him
A male family tradition.
He will be missed
He will be mourned
But he left his mark
Shared his love…
Brian Matthews, 18/7/21
The Narrow Path
We all walk the narrow wire,
Do we live or do we die?
No answers appear
Until one fateful day.
It is the natural course
That we all know
But when the curtain closes
Regrets litter the ground.
What could have been said?
What could have been done?
Questions left unasked
Never to be answered.
Rejoice we must
In what the person gave
The love they shared
Their acts of kindness.
Put aside perceived faults
Things that might have been neglected
We all have one life
A journey not a race to achieve.
Listen to the tales of others
Of words and deeds unheard
Learn about the life
Parts to you formerly unknown.
Brian Matthews, 27/7/21
A quote
“The more you live, the more you learn, and trust me, you never know who you might become.”
— Cause to Run (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 2) by Blake Pierce
Brian’s Reflections 