rain on my roof
in the conifer
a starling sings

late morning –
a neighbour's light
through winter trees

no wind –
clouds cap
snow-capped hills

early morning
delivery trucks hazard lights –
synchronise

low tide –

a black swan

stands tall

cold rain
under a parked car
a starling shakes its head

a cold wind

sparrows –

fly silent

after the funeral
a cold wind
sweeps the courtyard

swollen river
a gull lands
on a drying rock

on the back of a truck,
workmen dump building debris,
haphazardly –
outside the art gallery

torrential rain
the Peace Lilly
stays calm

mindful stone - 25 Jan 2014

warm breeze
through the window
a fly on each side

mindful stone - 24 Jan 2014

waiting for crumbs
a one legged pigeon
leans into the wind

mindful stone - 23 Jan 2014

clear blue sky

more prominent than the sun

the noon day moon 

mindful stone - 20 Jan 2014

birds 

silence

RUMBLE

RATTLE
<<< E A R T H Q U A K E >>>

silence

birds 

mindful stone - 19 Jan 2014

the full moon
its glow suppressed
by the greedy clouds

mindful stone - 18 Jan 2014

sheltered from wind,
a branch twitches
with playful sparrows

mindful stone - 17 Jan 2014

walking down
the broken escalator
feeling
for the next
                  

                   step
   

mindful stone - 14 Jan 2014

sign on the window
of a closed print shop:
"shop for lease"

I stand beside it,
reading from 
a smartphone

mindful stone - 13 Jan 2014

The
s    l     o      w    
w       a        l          k
on the first day back
to work
this New Year

mindful stone - 9 Jan 2014

A cold wind,
he wears a t-shirt,
shorts,
sunglasses,
determined –
to enjoy the summer

mindful stone - 8 Jan 2014

the young thrush
pokes it head through my back door,
showing no fear,
yet I fear for its innocence,
the innocence of nature

mindful stone - 7 Jan 2014

hanging washing out
with eyes on the clouds
to avoid
another rinse cycle

mindful stone - 6 Jan 2014

a break in the rain
the peaceful chirp of birds -
constant drone of lawnmowers

mindful stone - 5 Jan 2014

one man
one fly
one room
one summer night –

zzzzzz –BUZZZZZZ – zzz – BUZZZZZZ – BUZZZZZZ – BUZZZZZZ

mindful stone - 4 Jan 2014

no children’s laughter
on the street,
no birds on high branches –
no mountains today

mindful stone - 3 Jan 2014

new moon –
the powerful wind
travels unseen

mindful stone - 2 Jan 2014

gail force winds,
the loudest noise
still -
a dripping tap

mindful stone - 1 Jan 2014

New Year’s Day
a thrush stares at me
quizzically

mindful stone - 14 January 2013

calm harbour

sliced in half

by the rain

mindful stone - 13 January 2013

on the television news,

bush fires in Australia;
outside –
heavy rain falls

mindful stone - 11 January 2013

passing a billboard

advertising an air show

images of fighter planes —

beauty masking their true nature

 

mindful stone - 10 January 2013

street performers
Dire Straits drown out
Bob Dylan

mindful stone - 9 January 2013

cold rain,

clouds part,

blue sky,

a leaf falls ,

on this —

summer morning

mindful stone - 8 January 2013

people standing

on almost every street corner

looking down at a street map —

a cruise ship has docked

mindful stone - 7 January 2013

ancient eastern tradition

balancing rocks and stones

modern western shortcut

cement and wire

mindful stone - 6 January 2013

the vagrant spider
looked cross 
at being disturbed

mindful stone - 5 January 2013

shortening shadows
garden implements
lay idle
popping pine cones
startle a small bird

mindful stone - 4 January 2013

buying a suit,

the young shop assistant

talks with an accent,

either from the playing fields of Eaton,

or over exposure to Downtown Abby

mindful stone - 3 January 2013

first working day of the new year

the traffic is not in a rush

mindful stone - 2 January 2013

the northerly wind

arouses the noisy trees

mindful stone - 1 January 2013

a conversation of birds
sitting on the telephone line

a river of stones - Jan 29 2012

no matter how much care
is taken when mowing the lawn,
there are always two
and only two
dandelions left standing 

a river of stones - Jan 26 2012

gale force winds,
at the traffic lights
cars rock
to nature’s beat

a river of stones - Jan 25 2012

the surrounding hills are not there, the morning mist lingers still
sea birds swoop and dive, freely above the becalmed harbour 
my eyes create my world, birds exist but the hills can never be.

a river of stones - Jan 24 2012

clear night sky
and still no moon
a chorus of birds
erupts in the early evening
blissfully unperturbed
by the dragon’s arrival

a river of stones - Jan 23 2012

no moon tonight?
there it is!
newly born

a river of stones - Jan 22 2012

sun in the puddle
sun in the window
sun in the sky
so many suns yet —
forecast for rain

a river of stones - Jan 21 2012

examining tea leaves,
the only future
that is certain –
is theirs

a river of stone - Jan 20 2012

walking past the noisy
construction site,
the teenager
turns up his iPod

a river of stones- Jan 19 2012

fire drill –
he finishes an email,
grabs his mobile phone
and coat
before leaving

a river of stones - Jan 18 2012

on top of the hotel
various country’s flags
flapping violently together
but independently
determining their own use
of the wind to gain prominence

a river of stones - Jan 17 2012

morning sun reflects
off the observatory
exposed by
the day-time sky

a river of stones - Jan 16 2012

driving into the City,
to my left —
the calm clear harbour,
to my right —
the frantic blur of traffic

a river of stones - Jan 15 2012

searching the shelves
at the hardware store
for cleaning products,
the dust
makes me sneeze

a river of stones - Jan 14 2012

clouds speed
across the sky —
the absense of bird song

a river of stones - Jan 13 2012

I stand outside
looking in –
a fly lands on the inside
of an open window

a river of stones - Jan 12 2012

watching the morning sun
come over the distant hills
I ponder,
is it rising,
or,
are we descending?

a river of stones - Jan 11 2012

once a status symbol,
the BMW
travels backward
behind a tow truck

a river of stones - Jan 10 2012

a mere
shadow
of me –
my  
shadow

yet
in the glow
of the
lamp

it grows bolder and I  become a shadow of it

river of stones - Jan 9 2012

after the storm
the blue sky
a brown tide

river of stones - Jan 8 2012

calm
so calm
then ----

¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ RAIN ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦

== W  I    N          D ==

<< THUNDER >>

river of stones - Jan 7 2012

weekend gardeners

duelling lawnmowers –

and stereo systems

river of stones - Jan 6 2012

leaves provided life
through photosynthesis
and now dead
they decay and nourish
the trees that gave them birth

surely leaves
are the noblest
of all living organisms

river of stones - Jan 5 2012

strong northerly
shakes the cell tower –
voices carried by the wind

river of stones - Jan 4 2012

reading Kerouac’s  “Dharma Bums”,
concentration broken
by a bird
breaking a snail shell on my roof

river of stones - Jan 3 2012

lawn mower in for repairs,
my lawn bristles
like a little boy
finding the barbershop closed

river of stones - Jan 2 2012

the wind conducts an orchestra

of rustling leaves and bird song

while at the end of the street

a child tries desperately

to make his crying sound sincere

a river of stones - Jan 1 2012

New Year's Day -
rain falls
from last year's clouds

a river of stones - July 31

I saw the world today

in that single moment

I looked into

the sparrow’s eye.

a river of stones - July 30

in the dark night sky

above the stadium,
a lone seagull circles

in the spotlights

then fades from view

a river of stones - July 29

staring out the window

at the light in a puddle,

reflecting on the reflection

through light's refraction

a river of stones - July 28

7 am outside the bar

he staggers

or was he dancing

to the music

still ringing in his ears

a river of stones - July 27

a clear evening sky –

now ready for bed

I hang my hat

on the hook of the moon

and switch off the stars

a river of stones - July 26

24 hour internet cafe

the attendant

nods to stay awake

as his Farmville crops wilt

a river of stones - July 25

snow covering the hills,

sleet on the windshield,

the wet road

does not dampen

the van driver's enthusiasm

for speed

a river of stones - July 24

winter evening –

my breath mixes

with the steam 

rising 

from the soup on the fire

a river of stones - July 23

smoke tumbles down

the tiled roof,

in the morning mist

droplets hang

beneath the branches

a river of stones - July 22

waking,

my  alarm clock plays  

a classic rock radio station –

memories of

my first car

a river of stones - July 21

early morning,

it's dark,

overcast,

forecast for heavy showers,

he wears his sunglasses

on top of his shaved head

a river of stones - July 20

clear night sky,

the Southern Cross

Orion’s Belt –

Boeing 737

a river of stones - July 19

        at the wharf, a

        row of shiny new

                identical silver cars ready to be shipped

               to new owners who want to express their

                     individ                                  uality

a river of stones - July 18

walking up the stairs

of the car park,

the faint remnants

of graffiti –

the smell of fresh paint

as there was

only a week ago

a river of stones - July 17

a poetry reading –

outside,

cars drive down the hill,

oblivious

to the poet's words

a river of stones - July 16

walking along the garden path

a fantail keeps me company

hoping branch to branch

feeding on the many insects

startled by my movements

pausing, I look down

and reflect on the many lives

lost beneath my feet

a river of stones - July 15

    in the dark

             early

      morning,

        an empty

               can of

           energy

      drink lays   

          crumpled

      in the gutter

a river of stones - July 14

just above the horizon

the moon

takes full credit for its glow.

such falsehood!

it merely reflects the sun’s glory

a river of stones - July 13

winter day

even at noon

my shadow is long

a river of stones - July 12

running across the street

his grimace

provides no protection

from the rain

a river of stones - July 11

gale force winds

a trash can

is transformed

into 

an umbrella stand

a river of stones - July 10

arriving home,

the rain clouds

momentarily  part –

the Southern Cross

a river of stones - July 9

the birthday party,

eighty years

and her rocking chair

is merely

an ornament

a river of stones - July 8

Outside the Army Museum,

a boy clambers over a tank

– it’s all just a game

a river of stones - July 7

winter rain

pounding my roof

and the Karearea call


http://www.whatbird.co.nz/audio/08audio-long.mp3

a river of stones - July 6

before dawn –

blue, green, red,

yellow and white 

 – colours

of the harbour waves

a river of stones - July 5

On the way to work

I pass

the same people

on the same corners

at the same time –

A discomforting

comfort  with such

familiarity

a river of stones - July 4

the shortest day

is now behind us,

snow

on the Rimutakas,

make nights

far too long

a river of stones - July 3

dawn –

splitting the darkness

from light

a Ruru call

a river of stones - July 2

under the overcast sky

even the river

appears grey

a river of stones - July 1

the new moon
is still
the same old moon