Squaring my shoulders back,
I begin.

Like all the books suggested,
I shuffle the paper cards
Praying these thin sheaves
Give me more answers than
A lifetime of beaded silences.

Thoughts of blasphemy shoved aside,
I allow my illuminating confessor
Witness this next sin.

To put it in the center
Where it ought to be
So open, so vulnerable
Still beyond me.

Behind the base then,
Where only I can see
The ace of misfortune.

Laughter bubbles to the surface
Hushed by the rattle
Of the china and crystal.

As summer slowly fades away let’s cling to its dwindling shards of gold.

In the land of reels and glowing light,
Where every spin ignites the night,
A world of thrills, both bold and free,
Awaits without the need for fee.

Free pokies call with vivid grace,
No sign-ups here, no frantic pace.
Just click and play, explore the sound —
Where joy in reels is always found.

With fruit machines and themes galore,
Old-school charm or bonus core,
The games don’t ask for cards or cash,
Just fun, no losses, and no crash.

I gorge on black ink shadows
and gulp down silver moon beams
delectable, saporous
by the streetlamp marinade
me hallucinating art
on a diet of glow world
hue imbued hungry brushstrokes
dream garnish o'er starlit feast

Shared third podium position in Poetry Soup Contest 

I dwell
in city parks
slow rhythm building up
one can now sense fresh beginnings
and the prospect of energy unleashed
revel in a bright dawn afloat
why not spark elation
dream flights from where
I dwell

What do you find, looking into the eyes
of those who are remnants of life
of those who are here but found in the afterlife
of those who cry, silent tear
of those who are dear only from a distance
of those whose existence contained in a sphere
of those who hear but don’t listen
of those whose actions lie in the righteous talk
of those who walk in faith but bathe in blood
of those who judge with their eyes then lie and cheat
of those who sell their soul for a piece of gold, then all are buried 6 feet deep