The eye of the storm

Soaring in the blue eye of the storm

Two eagles ride majestically 

The thermic currents

Circling slowly indifferent

To the storm rolling in

Arrogant in their knowledge

To be the harbingers of strife 

And destruction in their wake

What a regal sight it is!

To be as free and in control

Of one's world is but a dream.

A sudden squall enthrals us

Wind and rain shake our world

When it ends the eagles have flown away.

Lucette C. Bailliet

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Milou

I

Front page news: Addition to Murch.

Got a new kid on the block

Not a kid as such 

Goats and billies we've dealt with

We got a puppy!

For what do you do

When it follows you around

And attack fiercely your shoe laces?

You take it home of course

The dog chooses its master

Truth universally acknowledged!

II

A Jack Russell one

Named Milou

All over the place

Already made its mark

Full of energy

Keen to explore around

Bringing laughter and cheers

Playfully chasing a ball

A tissue box, a treasure box

To rip apart

A pen a good teething ring

Puts himself to bed

And forgets all about us.

Lucette C. Bailliet

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Bush weather warning bureau

Some towns have a town crier

Announcing whatever news

Then you have the  bush one

Drumming a weather change

To give a three day warning

Better than any modern system

For when the cascading laugh

Peculiar to the Kookaburra

Blasts in the empty skies

Across the paddocks

Be simply thankful 

Time is enough

To pick up the washing off the line

Secure all outdoor furniture

Under the verandah 

Gather enough dry wood

To feed the ravenous stove 

In the coming rainy days and nights

The spinning top activity we rush into

Before the storm

Makes it laugh at us

Forgetting to enjoy the sunny day.

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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Open office

I've got an office

From sunrise to sunset

It's open all year round

Views wrapped around

It's furnished with a table

And a director chair

Has got a mobile and an iPad

Modernity obliges 

So yes it's an open office

It has no walls 

But a sun umbrella 

The only place we get access

To the networks 

In front of the chook pen

Attendance in coming winter 

May be a bit low and scarce

On windy days

Although nothing an open air brazier 

Couldn't counter on sunny ones

This is tree change in power

For yes it's an open air office!

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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Silly Roos

How curious it is

Somewhat disappointing too

But it's a universal truth

That familiarity breeds contempt 

It took only three weeks

Form a sense of wonder

To a contemptuous glance

To see three to five Roos

Grazing peacefully 

In the paddocks

To condemn their silliness

Incapable to distinguish 

Between threat and danger

And fly into panic mode

Always in the path of the car

Or to get caught in the barbed fence

Seemingly loosing their power

To jump high above

On top of which

They seem to feed during the night

As well as the day

Can't they get some rest

Or let me sleep at all?

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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Full moon rant

Majestically the full moon

Rises above the bush

Indifferent in her icy beauty

To the suffering in her wake.

A royal spoonbill is resting

On the top branch of a dead tree

A waterfowl in a forest

Out of sorts with its environment.

The evening beauty and peace

Are shattered by distant gunshots

Rednecks on a weekend rampage

Alcohol will take the blame.

 

The moon chooses to hide

Behind thick dark clouds

The spoonbill has flown away

To some friendly waterways.

Man's evil tendencies 

To kill and destroy 

Are intrinsic to his nature

So they say.

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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Taking point

Life is taking a turn

Busy, hectic I should say.

But whose life isn't nowadays?

Should I complain

About the stress

The lack of control?

Finding a place

To fulfil our dreams

To live our last years

Is it too much to ask?

Do we deserve it?

Are we fools to buy into it?

What else do we have?

The last hurrah before alienation

Who cares anyway? 

Better to suffer than vegetate

For at this stage 

Death is but certainty.

At least whatever we do

A purpose we achieve 

So let's have fun

Shall we?

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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First rain

Three days of rain

Blades of grass 

Are piercing

In patches already

The paddocks take

On a greener hue

The soil is soaking

 All the water it can

Only one of two puddles

Are gathering here and there

The rain is playing

A tattoo on the roof

Almost strong enough 

For a headache

To take place

Barely seen by the eye

Which sense to believe? 

The verandah gives

Access to the outside world

Without getting wet

The rain delivers us

A new  dimension!

 Lucette C. Bailliet 

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Life off grid

Can't lose, really

If it rains, 

It fills the water tanks.

If it shines,

The solar batteries are charging.

Life off grid is full of charm, really, 

Like ending the evening by candlelight

As both the batteries run out of power

And the generator out of fuel!

What a first week it has been,

The main water tank going empty

Short showers were on the menu,

Had to work out how to fill it again

By gravity feed from the second one

It turns out. The third one is still leaking

Don't know if the lining is leaking

Or it just needs a plug or two !

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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Going bush

Going bush is a lifestyle 

I'm not sure about a choice

More a necessity

Going off grid seems the way to go

Rain water collection will have to do

For the heating dead wood 

Gathered while walking 

On the grounds or in the nearby forest

Growing our own food 

Will take some time

To live in autarky is our new cry

For this is what it means 

Return to roots

And look after our garden

As Voltaire stated is to be wise

It may seem to you too modest

Maybe but to be in charge 

Is to be free.

Lucette C. Bailliet 

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