And still another Odysseus poem

THE MOON WILL ONE DAY FALL:

Can a moment be all moments?

Or, rather, thinking clearly this evening as I stare up

at the distended moon, so heavy

she threatens to fall into labor

and scythes the world over gasp at the thought,

how can it be that many moments fractured in time

and circumstance

are able to resonate across disconnected events

so a similarity of attention captures us

(and we might even whisper

that it is the breath of the Goddess

or our flimsy soul finding itself aware

for the fleeting moment of thought

that haunts us)?

The arrow that pierces…

Achilles pursed lips shocked yet

knowing — his mother had, after all, warned him.

Penelope beneath me, her lips also pursed, her eyes

shocked yet knowing  — her mother, after all,

had warned her.

The black ship cutting through waves, the sound

it makes somehow echoing her gasp,

his cry,

and my heart’s rapid beat

and above us all The Moon —

mother, lover and fated to fall

and we all hope

we are there to see it

and that we are not,

for, like the Siren’s sound that lingers in my ears

long after we had passed that sweet voice’s range,

we will not forget it.

Another poem in the Odysseus series

Greek Pride

The truth about the war

is that it had nothing to do with Helen

and everything to do with Greek Pride —

the pride that quietly took shape there

in solid rocks of Greece,  a pride as cruel and salty

as any savored olive; a pride that bleat

like the sheep so that our ears constantly rung

with it, telling us we were Greeks,

we were the best there was.

We are the sailors of the sea!

We are the fishermen of The Mediterranean!

We cast our nets to lure the  coolest flesh

up out of the mysterious depths of their dreaming beds

and into our strong, tanned arms where they lay —

the salt crusting their lips while our conch-shaped ears

hear the moaning of the ceaseless sea,

The Siren’s call to leave the warmth tasted

and sail again our eager crafts into unfamiliar waters.

What then could we do,

we Greek sailors, but take offense that a Trojan,

and not even the greatest one among them,

could land the supreme beauty of them all,

could sail with her to his homeland and hide

with her behind the city’s thick, silent walls?

If he had but bedded and left

nothing would have come of it —

a short stay, a wading in…then the receding,

the memory of her a secret to be shared

even as he left our shores and sailed away

to some other soft spread of ardent limbs.

He should not have taken her away,

not held up our pride

like the bones after a feast and shout

to the world, ‘These Greeks are but men,

no more than you or me,

and maybe, less even than that.’

No! We could only gather ourselves

like the waves we travel upon,

sharpen our spears

and cross the world to those walls —

camp there on that distant shore, its sand

bitter on our alien skin,

its wind screeching from a direction no wind

should ever shriek from, and prove ourselves again —

show the world and all the peoples within,

that we are the sailors, even the least among us,

the sailors of this world, we Greek men

who came forth from the wooden horse

and reclaimed our worth

in the spilled blood of each and every Trojan.

Book Launches

So soon I'll start planning/negotiating the book launch of Catalina and it got me wondering. What's the best way to do a book launch?

I've done three in book shops but the thing is, I think I've used my hired crowd a lot already (it helps having a large family to call upon).

Is there another way?

Perhaps standing on a street corner with a box of books and a pen (maybe a card table)  and doing a street book launch much like I used to do street poetry back in the 80's. It would certainly marry with my theatre background - an Impromptu Book Launch! Street Art — Literary Style.

Maybe set up a book launch outside the house - like the old lemonade stands. Books 5c. Signed 10c.

Advertise a Garage sale but have only my books?

Throw them at passers-by and plead my case? Sort of a terrorist Book Launch.

Put them in a boat and see where the Australian Government might take them? Of course secrecy might be the undoing of this idea. Who knows, they might end up in India without anyone ever knowing...or worse...In Canberra.

It is probably a shame I'm not Tony's daughter - a  book launch scholarship or a  PM's award would certainly help a book launch - or better still, have a Murdoch or two wanting something of me...then I'd be certain to be in all the papers.

Maybe there is a peptide for writers? Off to a back alley for several shots. Some arts scientist or two to work on my verb and adjective levels...some quick fix that bulges book sales until whole shelves topple over?

Any ideas?

What might work?

How to do a book launch bigger than Ben Hur on a budget smaller than Fearless Fly?

Or shall I simply go the same route again? Find a bookshop, plead my case, ring/email family and friends and maybe drink a red or two and pretend I know none of them?

I'll let you know what I come up with.

Or maybe I won't...

Maybe it'll be my little secret until WikiLeaks decides to get a hold of it...Maybe I need to go underground so that I reach great heights.

Food for thought...perhaps the germ of an idea...my next book...oh wait...that just means a vicious circle.... No writing tonight...I have a headache.

It begins!

Catalina has undergone a new edit thanks to the Satalyte Publishing team and their editor Alyssa.
Very excited and so glad Catalina will be published soon and then the exciting follow up to Catalina, Catalina's Choice which will soon undergo the editing process, something I must admit I love.

Can I just say I am really enjoying the collaboration with Stephen and the gang from Satalyte!
Just visit the link below and have a look around at the Publisher's website, check out their authors,m their books and stuff! can't wait to see Cat up their alongside the other titles.

http://satalyte.com.au/

Upcoming publications and stuff.

Had dumplings with Stephen  (http://satalyte.com.au/)  and a bunch of authors (and 1 builder) and chatted about various things including these facts!

Catalina will be published in October

Followed by Catalina's Choice

Then Geppetto's Son

and then The Tree Singer.

So the future looks bright and I am buzzing 'cos Stephen and Satalyte are just boundless (in their bindings).

Chatted with him and I'll submit Dada's Seed next. Then I'll finish off the Minotaur book (at this point called The Forlorn Forest) and finally get around to starting on my Odysseus novel - no title for this one which is probably why its still in the poetry stage.

On another note, I sent off a short story (The Co-Joined) to a magazine - my attempt at a horror story and the reply was 'no'  then 'something, something' and  finally 'this is almost porn' - and I didn't even include a sex scene..... I'm guessing they didn't like my story (or they want the pictures).

One day I'll return to The Co-Joined by for now I'll let my porn rest on its laurels...as it were.