ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Haunting Dreams

I’d dreamt about my mother for the first time now in years,
awakening old memories of happy times and tears.
The songs she used to sing to me, she'd sung once more as well,
from somewhere in the ether where old memories must dwell.

I used to bring her roses every time that I came back;
so often after years away, well off the beaten track.
As tears would sparkle in her eyes I’d feel a sense of shame,
she’d feared that I’d been lost or worse – I knew I was to blame.

The chance of sleep had now long passed or so it seemed to me,
for soon the sun would rise where once had been an ancient sea.
The eastern sky was tinted with a hint of what’s in store;
As fire dipped fingers start to rise above the salt lakes shore.

My rough old camp would offer shade throughout the heat of day,
yet beams of sunlight would peep through this old gums leafy spray,
to shine like spotlights in the night, then slowly fade away
and searing heat will come then go, to end another day.


© T.E. Piggott

Lovely to see you sharing your softer side Terry - you made good use of the prompts in this lovely poem

Thanks Maureen

I was determined to use as many of the prompts as possible,
even if I had to tinker with a couple of them to to make them fit in.

Cheers

Terry

Prompts are only ever a suggestion Terry and not set in concrete - feel free to tinker with them - I do it all the time

Good on ya Terry. I've never been near a dry salt lake, only the watery ones, although I have dreamt about my parents and grandparents sometimes.

Beautiful, Terry...and great line with the 'fire dipped fingers'. Really enjoyed this lovely poem - read it several times over

Thanks Neville and Catherine

Neville
some of the salt lakes like Lake Cary for instance are huge,
They are usually dry but do have a bit of water in them on occasion.
I have prospected for gold on quite a few of them, and with some success at times as well.

Catherine
For some reason when looking for a quick idea for a poem I usually write about familiar places,
So it probably comes as no surprise that I often end up writing about the bush.
Saying that, I was wondering if you have a special place to fall back on at times?

Regards Terry

Hi Terry,
It's an interesting point....funnily enough I don't think I have one special place currently, although there have been several over the years that have stood out as particularly inspirational - such as Kakadu, to name one example.

Nature in general always inspires me - whether it's the bush, the ocean, or animals and birds. These seem to be the main subjects I tend to go back to - along with war, for some reason I can't explain.

Hi Terry

A lovely poem. Like Catherine, I particularly liked the "fire dipped fingers". Pithy similes and metaphors always win me over!

I can't claim to have experienced much of the rougher side of the outback - but this poem does remind me of a trip long ago when we travelled the Birdsville track and skirted many salt lakes.

Cheers
Shelley