the solstice
steals into my calendar
too soon
the turning of the year
hastens our time of parting
Julie Thorndyke
time
Date Stamp
September gone
and another birthday
I pause
before turning the fourth
corner of the year
these book-lined walls
all thought, every emotion
contained
on my calendar I schedule
a day to run free
last day of term
locking the library door
on silence
I check myself out
for a long, long loan
Julie Thorndyke
(Tanka Splendor Winner 2006)
A Winter Ginko
It was a wabi-sabi sort of day last weekend, when I met with poetry friends for a garden ginko. We took some time to slow down, walk around a winter garden, and notice the textures of foliage, stone and wood.
Camellias, jonquils, and other rarer blooms we couldn’t name were there for the keen-eyed poet to discover.
In these moments of reflection, we may have also learnt something about ourselves.
stone tubs
that once held the weekly wash
now cradle spring bulbs
. . . each day I find
a new skill to master
© Julie Thorndyke
Hourglass
The beach has changed this year
tall dunes have washed away—
our rock pools dry and bare
… so fall the sands of time.
The surf club walls have lurched
foundations sink and warp
each window pane has cracked
to admit the sands of time.
The jetty timbers creak
and splinter with the tide
with every passing week
sink deep in sands of time.
The camping ground has closed
bright sign has fallen low
weeds thrive where children played
… so fall the sands of time.
© Julie Thorndyke
First published June 2014 by Australian Children’s Poetry
Julie Anne Thorndyke 