That Good Night

I was a hero.

Give me panadol,

give me long sleep.

I was a hero.

I grew my hair long

for her,

forgot to shave.

I was a hero.

I gave real life.

I was a hero

I walked the antiseptic corridors,

heart in hand

and

shattered bodies.

Surgeryslash

and

the desperation:

never break.

All had love.

I was a hero,

and ignored the shame

of it

all.

People will be,

in or out

of,

or otherwise.

Give me panadol.

Give me long sleep.

I was a hero.

I will not go gentle.

Puppet Show

Around a campfire

they were

slumped like stringless puppets.

There was

nothing important left to say

(tide coming in,

sand cooling,

moths retreating).

Ghost flames

shiver on a starry sea.

Tomorrow in ashes

they write sandy words for

another hungry tide.

It's a someday afternoon:

phosphorescence holds its glow for evening,

charcoal paints sand.

Dune grass chitters.

Re-strung puppets

breathein

breatheout,

but

not in a hurry.