vegemite sandwiches
and 2KF coffee
wollongong, church point, avalon and narrabeen
big splash and a whale at my window sill

shorts in winter
and kites sailors on the sea
G’day mate and she’ll be right
footy and cricket and the SCG

central station in morning light
kirribilli markets with bargains in hand
botanic garden bats
and a coat hanger stretching across a cobalt blue sea

manly ferries charging on
palm beach lighthouse looking out
roos and cockatoos
huntsmen staging dramatic dance in the corners

yoga rooms
that become living rooms
work that becomes love
a loft becomes a home rocking seamlessly by the sea

lakes that become mirrors in early morning light
studying with gargoyles in sydney uni clock towers
blue hyundai road trips
and babies being born

so many memories
so many loves
our suitcases and our hearts
they overflow and teach us how to grow

copyright – christina adler – 3 July 2008 – Narrabeen, NSW Australia

like ribbons dancing off their spools
around my feet
a rainbow
of faces and feelings and words

have you ever
stared at the shape of a heart
and noticed two bodies leaning
over

to read the others truth
tucked beautifully
underneath
their heart

so soft
that the room around the two
glows in pink
as if a million

sunrises
dawned at once
and the faces that have greeted me
as we say farewell

have all been bathed in this same light
as if reaching
underneath their sweater, their jacket, their scarf
they brought forth

that tender heart
so that its glow lends
a pathway
as we step away

and all I can do
is hold my hands to my face
in hope that the depth of this
of this love leaves its mark

so that where I walk
I trail the intention to love as I have been loved
to sing a song of what it is to live
among the people who create what we’ve called home

copyright – christina adler – 3 July 2008 – South Narrabeen Beach, NSW Australia

autumn leaves crunching
beneath my feet
and I am a girl again
with purple heart shoelaces

making up games
to the tune
of the season
tucking

wide rainbow oak leaves
behind my ears and
in my denim pockets
so that

as I walked
I made the sound
of a tree
caught between weather and sky

free
from any kind
of time piece
except the light

tinted
by San Francisco fog
which traveled
over tall red arches

through a rainbow tunnel
down the eucalyptus lined
freeway and
up the wide belly

of our mountain
to find my home
where the deer hid in
the corners

of my playpen
and the squirrels jumped from
tall branches
and my sister and I

would watch for bluejays
that matched our eyes
and I can almost
taste the hot apple cider

that warmed our small
cold hands
when the sky was nearly black
and the redwood trees started to creak with night

while our stories
told to the wind
and the ivy
and the large plum tree

would wait
to continue
for another day
where wonders never cease

copyright – Christina Adler – 2 June 2008 – Narrabeen Beach, NSW Australia

change
I once was so allergic to
yet now
like a child

with new found courage
I am drawn
into the closet
and I reach for the most

unfamiliar coat
I turn it round and round
in my hands
wondering

if the sleeves will be too long
if the colour is too bold
if I’ve grown into this
and I hold it close

against my heart
and I can feel
the weight of it
and with my face against a sleeve

comes a scent that reminds me of
pine needles
and redwood bark
of days when this coat was soaked in fog

and I feel clear suddenly
that it will fit
knowing how
I’ve worn this piece before and

I close my eyes
slip the sleeves over my bare arms
my hands slipping through the old silk lining
and with ease

they come free at the ends
and I stand there
draped in blue
feeling oddly more myself than I have in years

contently I reach into the deep pockets
and find my hands are full
for in each carefully sewn square
are the memories

and the Australian voices
and my fingers run over and over
the shapes of the letters in the words
that were gifts from so many loved ones

that I take with me
that tell me so much of who I am
and I step out
finally in the direction of home

copyright – Christina Adler – 12 April 2008 – Narrabeen Beach, NSW Australia

these days
between seasons
everything is so still
the sound soft as dust on mirrors

pockets of stillness
even on city streets
as if the wind forgot her whistle
and the clouds cried all their tears

today the cars drive slowly
as if on an old town street
the people driving seem to have remembered
they are fine exactly as they are

the calm is contagious
strangers at the supermarket
smile for no reason
and hand each other fruit

we marvel at the sound of grapes
eaten by small children
these details can be heard
between seasons

this pause at the end of the exhale
so unique
with the absence of sound
and yet the inhale of Autumn

so intoxicating
that it won’t be long
before leaves crunch under feet
and crisp cold apples fall on windy days

but take heart and save some stillness
keep it in your top shirt pocket
and reach for it again
when you need to be reminded

that stillness has a sound
and souls need to rest
if even for the moment
at the end of each breath

copyright – Christina Adler – 30 March 2008 – Narrabeen, NSW

Australia

the wind flaps
those vines
like ducks wings
against the hunter green

and scattered lilac flowers
that I don’t know
the name of
make me feel like I’m in

a painting
on my grandmother’s wall
peaceful
still and soft

as if all the world
had stopped buzzing by
and my loved ones were held
safe and content

and I could rest
between the oils and the canvas
in this perfect afternoon
where only the wind

and I
converse
through the tender
language of silence

if only I knew
who painted me here
i would reach out softly
through these thick colours

to touch them
to allow them to feel
this grace
this picture of calm

copyright – christina adler – 14 January 2008 – Hunter Valley, NSW Australia