The wind
in a loud guffaw
tells the wind chimes
a dirty joke
and the wind chimes
polite to the last
try not to laugh
but first one & then...they can’t
suppress a little tinkle
a titter of laughter
even the little bell
above the door
joins in
with a musical chuckle
but when I step out
onto the balcony
I find
they have managed to control themselves
and all is quiet.
Yet when I turn to go back in
they all snigger behind my back.
Even the flowers in the corner
have to laugh
so I laugh too
not even knowing
what the joke was all about.
*******
DIT DE DAH DIT (for Scarlett)
I’m learning Morse Code
from Corporal Acting Sargent Byrne.
Cpl/Sgt. Dots & Dashes
we call him for fun.
He dit de dit dahs at me.
Enquires of me...what he has sent.
I consult my notepad
as if it was an oracle
The furious dots
dashing across the page.
“I think it says...I guess...? ”
“Enemy at...? ”
“Send something something something or other! ”
“Asp! ”
Yes... I get the asp.
He snorts like a horse
I almost expect him to eat hay and say neigh.
I suddenly realising
that if they were depending on me
we would all be dead
or surrounded and surrendering.
Realising too that Morse Code may not be
my forte!
*******
DEAR GOD IF...? (for Lyn)
“Dear God if...
You are
invisible
try to be fair
and let us see you too.”
Listen to my little sister
tell her prayers
to the dark
as if it were a
real live God.
Yeah, God
that goes for me too!
But the dark
like God
doesn’t listen.
I look in
a moment later
and she is
sleeping.
I wonder what
she is
dreaming.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem