Oh to find some
love or joy in this world
is never that simple
But last night (in a bar in Fitzroy)
I met a girl like me
who had a missing dimple.
She immediately struck me
about the head like a gold brick!
(apologies, Douglas)
It has been a while
since I have made a connection
with such a kindred heart;
Maybe it was
just the mutual appreciation
of Mr. Adams,
or a love for teaching art?
Whatever it was,
amongst the smokers' glittering stars
she was a breath of fresh air,
with her beautiful soul, smile & mind;
Removing my wooly glove
I took her hand, leading her outside
& for a moment I was no longer blind.
I hope I bump into her again,
feast on a few more precious words;
hear & see the constellations
spilling from her genuine
smiling eyes...
If only it is
just to thank her for briefly
filling my night
with some Douglas-like
wonder, humour & surprise!
A parting hug in Brunswick Street
& she was gone.
I wandered lost but homeward bound;
With the feeling Arthur Dent must have felt
when he first met a girl
whose feet never touched the ground.
(it seems silly to mention it now,
but before we even started talking
about the genius of Douglas Adams,
I wanted to tell her
that she somehow reminded me
of Trillian...
Not the TV
or radioplay
or film version.
How I imagined she would look,
all those years ago
when I first read the book...)
This morning
I lie here, more than a little wrecked,
(il communicado)
a babel fish slipping
from my ear into my bed;
I am delighted to discover
that I can still see her
"answer to life, the universe & everything"
smile blazing
in the expanding universe
within my head.
You were right, Douglas!
It REALLY is...
"42".
-for Corinne :)
(c) Brent M Harpur, 2011.
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." (Douglas Adams)
A warning:
When choosing totems...
I (foolishly) let my heart decide
that every time
I saw a magpie,
I would spare a thought
in my heart
for you.
But I've only
been out for half an hour today,
and I've already seen
ten of the little buggers!!
There are a lot of
bloody magpies
in Victoria,
this time of year...
And you,
too
should be advised
and take heed:
There are
a LOT
of butterflies
in this world.
(c)Brent M Harpur, 2011.
"Love,as is told by the seers of old, Comes as a butterfly tipped with gold, Flutters & flies in sunlit skies, Weaving round hearts that were one time cold."
It is true,
I have nothing.
Nothing of great value
to offer this world...
So I will leave a trail of words.
Or perhaps
(since I met you)
one word will suffice.
These words were born
from the first time we kissed,
held hands
or walked arm in arm in public.
These words came from a place
where your hand
gently touched my face
as I moved inside you.
Starlight burns
in this fading cornea now,
igniting the room
from the inside out!!
I am born again,
from angry (yet fragile) fire
& trembling crescent moon.
Inside this slight frame,
(away from earthly view)
there is a heaven in these words.
And in this heaven, I have created:
Orion & Sirius are side by side.
There is only love & no fear.
Remember,
scorpions are loyal
& the best of friends.
And in these words,
there is a place where the secret un-uttered
language of lovers
effortlessly merges
with early morning birdsong
& crackle of tram spark.
I am alone now,
but I do not feel alone.
You are still with me:
In every step.
In every dream.
In every smile from a stranger
on public transport.
And since I met you:
Whenever I now
open my mouth to speak,
I will think first.
Think first and then
Let go of most of my clumsy vocabulary.
These words, they no longer matter.
I can say so much more
without speaking.
I discard the world's dictionaries,
and find true language & meaning
in silence.
The only word I will utter now
(with any
reverence,
effort
or necessity)
is...
"significant".
(c)Brent M Harpur, 2011.
"All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind." (Kahlil Gibran)
A new moon
smiles overhead.
The stars have fallen
from fedora-grey skies
and scatter
along these strangely familiar
rain-stained alleyways
& streets...
...Leading him on,
though his vision be blurred,
leading him ever on;
these grounded
(yet still shining) constellations
a reminder to this wary
(but happy) traveler
that he has
(after forty two long/short years)
finally
found his way home.
It is
a new city,
a new moon
a new beginning;
It is a time to shine,
girls & boys!
A time to shine!!
(c) Brent M Harpur, 26 July, 2011.
"Follow your bliss & the universe will open doors
for you where there were only walls...” (Joseph Campbell)
-thanks to Sam for the quote. I have always loved Mr. Campbell.
