A little while ago I was writing a novel about ancient Australia (now, unfortunately, never to see the light of day) and have converted some of the descriptive dialogue into poetry. A few of those poems are published below, plus another one I wrote on the subject of freedom. I don't pretend that any of them are great – or even good – but if you want to have a read you are welcome. Scroll down, or click on the fast-links. Should you find them interesting – or terrible! – please let me know (there's an e-mail link at the bottom of the page). All the poems are copyright and may not be used without my written permission. Enjoy... * Ribbon Gums || Flood || The Creek || Twilight || War || Freedom * * The Last Word || My Home Page * (scroll through the page or click on these links) RIBBON GUMS Ribbon Gums was written as a description in a book I was writing – the almost eerie eucalypt rainforest of southern Australia with its tall, straight gums. Drive through the Dandenong Ranges just out of Melbourne (the capital of Victoria) and you will see these majestic trees and the long ribbons of litter they leave from their shedding bark. In Spring when they're shedding, the new white bark underneath shows through, giving them a ghostly appearance. Magic! The mountain gully rimmed with moulting eucalypts the trunks festooned with curling bark hanging in ribbons like yesterday's clothes. Bark denuded these ghostly gums flashing smooth grey-white limbs reborn, virginal the winter coat in tatters at their feet. Return To Top FLOOD Flood was also written as a descriptive piece in my long-gone novel on ancient Australia. I was trying to get across the growth of a flood as raindrops join to form puddles, the puddles join to form pools, then streams, then rivers, and finally into a full flood. In the story (at that point set in 7,000 BC), the Ice Age was finally over and the heavens re-opened after a 20,000 year drought. The local inhabitants had to live with this deluge as climatic changes racked the earth. They had gone from a freezing, but dry, climate to a cold wet one. However, floods are the same the world over and do not change with the times.This, I must admit, is my favourite piece. Under a wet onslaught rain-pocked puddles grow stretching wet fingers to neighbouring puddles joining hands embracing growing flowing seeking the low ground – puddles to pools pools to streams streams to rivers rivers to flood. Return To Top THE CREEK The Creek is another segment from my novel – this one set in 20,000 BC when the last Ice Age was in full swing (if Ice Ages really do swing!). This describes a small creek born in the heights of the Dandenong Ranges just outside of Melbourne, Victoria, which wends its way along a valley and ends up soaking into a marsh in the centre of a large plain. Locals will probably not recognise the measely creek as the mighty (???) Yarra River – the only up-side-down river in the world, too thick to drink, too thin to plow — and the extensive plain which swallows this creek as the Port Phillip Bay basin, at that time a dry barren plain (sea levels were about 120 metres lower than present levels). In the story, the sun "flails insipidly" because of the Ice Age and the cold Artic-type temperatures. Born in the white peaks the sun's anorexic rays flailing insipidly at the snow's cold strength giving the creek a meagre birth. The broad valley snuggled in the chilly arms of the mountains marches onto the plains beyond, carrying the creek on its path to death. Return To Top TWILIGHT Twilight is ust a short descriptive piece from my abandoned novel on ancient Australia. I liked the use of the word 'aerobic' to describe a dancing campfire. The last rays of the sun disappeared behind distant hills bathing the tanned landscape in its afterglow. The twilight, punctuated by the aerobic light of the campfire, watched the day wane. Return To Top WAR War was written, again, for my novel on ancient Australia. In this section two Aboriginal tribes are going into battle. The "good guys" have only experienced 'normal' tribal warfare – a quick foray, a lot of bruising, a few cuts, etc, an occasional death, and honour is served. On the other hand, the "bad guys" have just introduced 'total' war – they want the land the "goodies" occupy but they don't want the "goodies" left around afterwards. So the "goodies" must choose between maintaining their original tradition with its entrenched morality, and their survival. I hope you enjoy it. In war the morality of tradition is expediently ignored – but neither morals nor traditions serve a dead man. Return To Top FREEDOM The illusion of freedom valueless until it's gone. Freedom was written after some musings on this subject. But don't be mislead by its brevity. Freedom is only an illusion because it is subjective – a (trusted) slave might see a chance to walk in the street without restraint as the ultimate in freedom, while to many people the loss of their firearms might be seen as an enormous loss of freedom. To me, walking in the street is part of normal life and, not being a firearm owner, would see no loss in the banning of all guns. It's like a knot in piece of string. To the right of that knot is freedom (not in a right-wing political sense), to the left is confinement/restraint. To every man the knot is in a different position on the string. To each the perceived loss of freedom can be horrendous – but that perception varies from country to country, person to person. Freedom is also valueless because it is only an illusion – no man can ever truly be free, however much we delude ourselves. For example, can you walk on the face of the Sun? Or visit a distance Solar System? Maybe one day man will be able to do those things, but we can't at present. Because you can't do whatever you can imagine, you can never be truly free. The only real freedom I know is in the arms of Jesus – and there you are (happily) His servant! Might sound a contradiction but it isn't – you can only be really free after you totally submit yourself to Him. If this poem (and the concept, of course) tickles your fancy, please drop me an e-mail (below) and let me know your thoughts. So much yak for a three-line stanza! Return To Top Enter your search terms Submit search form   Graham's Homepage Web Graham’s Christian writing: "Graham Pockett doesn't mince any words, but he writes with a kind heart. If you have questions about such things as "once saved, always saved", or why so many different ideas can come from the same scripture, or how much what we see and do affects us as spiritual beings, you'll find much to think about here."  from This Christian Life Download these articles: GrahamsWriting.zip The Key To Heaven  (an analogy about commitment) I Am A Cynic; Therefore I Am A Christian “Once Saved Always Saved” – a dangerous delusion? Who is my Neighbor? – featuring "The Parable of the Good Muslim" Bashing The Bible – misusing & abusing Scripture Two Billion Doctrines – the strange religion called Christianity Does God Ever Change His Mind? – Calvin would turn in his grave! New Wine In An Old Skin – the problem of legalism in the church today Are You Hard Boiled, Or Soft & Runny? – doctrines are like an egg shell The Bible is an "iffy" book – a look at the conditional promises of God Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? – what did Jesus really look like? Why I Quote The NIV Bible – is it an heretical Bible? “Omissions” from the NIV Bible – a look at 17 missing verses Do You Believe In Miracles? – you do when they happen to you! "Why Didn't God Answer My Prayer For A Miracle?" – my response Christian Concepts – the cavern of life  (an analogy) Christian Concepts – the three crosses  (an analogy) Christian Concepts – we are what we eat Christian Concepts – when are we saved?  (an analogy) Christian Concepts – when we are saved, part 1  ...part 2 Jesus said: I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. John 15:1 NIV Could this key save your life? Click on it to find out. To Button Bar Finally... Thank you for reading my poetry. Enjoy your surfin' (and drop me an e-mail to let me know what you think of this page). To Button Bar © Graham Pockett Last Updated: Wednesday, January 02, 2008