Audio recording of the radio segment
A Kick in the Guts
Life never stops
The days go on
Things enjoyable and not
The pages turn.
We occupy ourselves
With that we need to do
And many things we choose
But some are actively avoided.
Thinking about your illness
Is something I avoid, my son
A phenomenon I can’t control
Best left to those who may.
A friend’s well-meant question
Brings all to the fore
Disallows the dense fog
Surrounding my feelings.
Like a kick in the guts
The question is received
Brief information given
Heart exploding with pain.
Realisation at the forefront
Even those who may control this
Reaching the end
Building barriers that, seemingly, will fall.
Sadness envelops me
A postcard from a school trip found
So many memories built
Knowing in these we must rejoice.
My soul feels ragged and torn
Knowing that you and your spouse
Have nowhere to hide from the pain
Doing your best to soldier on.
For many who care this is sad
But having lives to live move on
Hoping things will get better
Not staring into the abyss.
Comforting words can help
If only to show sincere concern
While bravely you the future face
Using all of your emotional reserves.
I send my deepest love
Knowing how deep this blade penetrates
Unable to shield you and your family
Cocooning you poorly.
Brian Matthews, 21/4/22
Trees
On a quiet country track
Walking, sitting, looking
Surrounded by trees
Straggly and twisted mostly.
A quiet time of day,
The afternoon so still
Before the birds seek their roosts
Sheep grazing, the occasional roo.
But trees dominate the landscape
Some small, others towering
Interspersed with bushes
Grasses and the odd flower.
Overhead on this cloudy day
The sun glints through
Ready to warm all
Breathe life into the trees.
In each whorl of their skin
Another year reflected
Some continued for many seasons
Others having much shorter spans.
A jumble of words
Cannot really do justice
To the nature of trees
The senses absorb their variety.
Some places these do not grow
High altitudes and dry land
Like our famous Nullarbor
Or on tundras of ice.
It pleases me that
Outside my door
I can see the trees
Breathe the air produced.
Brian Matthews, 22/4/22
The Nothing Box
A wife says to her man
What are you thinking?
As he reclines on the couch
“Oh, nothing” he says.
A tale retold around the world
Of that I am fairly certain
For most men it seems to me
Have a Nothing Box to retreat.
A place where thoughts swirl
But do not solidly coalesce
Where worries sit on the fringe
Unable to pierce the fog.
While loving spouses circle
Wanting their men to ‘open up’
Fearful of the damaging effects
Of bottling things up.
This is not really gender defined
As women too can attest
Holding feelings to their chest
Keeping others at bay.
But men socialised so often
To hide their deep emotions
Make a habit of this
And it can eat at their core.
But, I celebrate the Nothing Box
Use it judiciously I say
Retreat from the worries
Recharge for another day.
Brian Matthews, 22/4/22
I borrowed the term Nothing Box from Mark Gungor, Pastor and motivational speaker
From a distance
From a distance
It may often seem
Things are much calmer
Than those close deem.
Sail boats gliding
Over a tranquil sea
While the sailors battle
As much as can be.
A metaphor for life
A statement of fact
Some seeing the obvious
Others a different tack.
Up close in this world
We see warts and all
From far far away
There is no urgent call.
But when we hear the cries
And see the falling tears
It becomes so so apparent
That life has many fears.
Close observation makes
So much clearer to the eye
Thus politicians obfuscate
So their message we’ll buy.
Seeing the big picture
A statement so often used
To cover the reality
Of people being abused.
Whether they be refugees
In cells or hotel rooms contained
Or those born in poverty
Breeding behaviour poorly restrained.
Surveyed from afar
Emotions can be distanced
But if it affects those we love
Such travesties are not tolerated.
Empathy for others
So often needed
To understand the confusion
Show the message we have heeded.
Brian Matthews, 18-4-22
Reflections Aplenty
Talking about this and that
Some of it not easy
The illness kept at bay
But it seems not indefinitely.
Other conversations about the past
Sharing amusing anecdotes
Stories of children aplenty
Family and friends too.
These times are to be celebrated
Together mapping our lives
Reinforcing important connections
Discussing future hopes and fears.
Blessed I am to have so much
Though challenges hard to embrace
But confront these we must
Together we move ahead.
I fear the disease’s path
Now discomfort and pain
Good times there are now
Future prospects less encouraging.
While I quietly reflect
And he rests as needed
The anxiety ever present
As forward we move.
I value these times
Knowing the road ahead
Seeing the little boy still
Enjoying the time and stories.
I still rail against the injustice
Knowing that his life will end
Wanting this not to be so
Still hoping for a miracle.
A young man so full of life
Body being wastefully damaged
By an illness so severe
And yet he smiles and laughs.
Brian Matthews, 29/4/22
Over the lagoon
The reeds bend
In the gentle breeze
Calm, slightly rippled water beyond.
A peaceful place
Caravans and tents dotted around
Much relaxing happening.
Magpies looking for a feed
Carroling when found
Prancing on the ground.
Conversations here and there
Strollers passing with their dog
People enjoying their time.
A BBQ cooked for lunch
Snags and onions
Common, tasty fare.
Lounging in the sun after
An early, cold beer imbibed
A poem penned yet again.
Brian Matthews, 9/5/22
Picard Season 2 Episode 6
Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard
Written by Jane Maggs
I found that even in the darkest circumstances there is a light. Sometimes only a glimmer. Trust that light. Find a way back, no matter what it takes.