Andrew Whalan

Years passed,Since that stranger,Told me,A loss - would be - restored.Years pastward,As the loss lingered, Leaving me,Wondering whether she was -A teller of truth, or A doubt-reader who,An assuager ofMy luminous fear. Years afterward,The loss restored, Leaving me, Wondering whether I -Believed against the facts and fate, or whether I,learned from her - to hope -amidst the encroaching doubt.

You know each new banned phrase merely challenges us poets...From the creek to the ocean? Or...The Jordan to the Mediterranean...Ban it now - we will rephrase it later..

There's no contorting reply,Not even an empty echo, Just the absorption of silence.I call out and my words -suffocate ? - before I draw breath leaving me wondering...will this warmth be now receding...But perhaps it's because,you're holding me -so closely,and quietly -that i never felt there was comfort until now.

I like you morethan you like meunless...you are once again -so perfectly - correcting me.now you're sayingyou like me morethan I like youunless...once again you areso perfectly - correcting me.Saying now,The once silenced,No longer hidden,never to be secret word.

It was 1994. April had passed and May was ending. And I couldn’t get a job in Brisbane. Later I found out why. But surprisingly that was not the worst that had happened that year. I had endured a public humiliation followed by a public shunning due to my wife’s infidelity. Afterwards we had reconciled (ostensibly). A fortnight later I had lost my job. And I couldn’t find another. In that vacuum,…

My daughter's fear is - that my nights are lengthening - And mine for her is - that her twilight is approaching - And - as is her wont - she is again postponing -The autumn inevitable - until new winter's beginning -When and where our journeys will part and separate -Mine will begin - with my strengthening accepting fate -Faithful to the healing light - beyond the incarnate -Hers will commence -…

A Villanelle for Gaza Though vanished now, I will always see,My last breath myself as light ever expanding.My father's fingers, his hands ever searching for me.His head bowed - sifting and scrabbling desperately,His vowed promise to find me by nightfall fading,Though vanished now, I will always see,His tears, his cries, calling to me despairingly,His doubts dust-clouded now ever encircling,My…

So you thought you'd be managing my emotions?You thought supporting me - was a full time vocation?But...All my cosseting ever was-liminal and momentary.And all my soothing was--temporal and transitory.And now...Every so often, each time longer than the last,I will stretch lightly forward, teetering at the last,And lean gently quietly invisibly, And draw soft strength from your arm momentarily.…

It’s been weeks now - glimmers of hope surround me, padding slowly, silently around him - starting to erase the usual doubts, choosing tones dulcet around him -leading up to Valentine’s Day.Meantime each day closer now -the air presses upon me -humidity enveloping around me -softer my voice slower now - sifted words more gently now -leading up to Valentine’s Day.This Valentine’s Day the flash is…

I could easily shake that dust away - venture outwards - though I'd rather stay -postpone the first step till tomorrow or, better yet, mid-breadth, stay in again -Or pause, forget, and wait for a cloudless day...Instead I chose to seek the calling that leads me closer to home.Yet though I live in continual contemplation,Trying to stave off the down spiral of rumination,Fearing that the paralysis…

While training i discovered one of the participants didn’t have full Teams or SharePoint access. I said easy enough just call the help desk. I added if need be I’m happy to speak with them on your behalf. So she did, and after what feels like half an hour, she’s granted access. It’s now about five minutes before session’s end, meaning that by the time she can start work we’ve finished. She is…

I don't think I've ever seen you smile.Why haven't you smiled these last ten years?Well if I may be permitted to speak,men like you are constantly interrupting - And then men like you never apologise.And if I may be permitted to keep speaking,It's because women like us must constantly apologise - don't forget we add the passive pause -one second - just in case of premature interruption,and then…

Social cohesion (defined) – An imposing incantation of words that proscribes harmony for all. Social cohesion (audibly) – When said out loud sounds and feels like: a clanging of dead air. a lead weight for the mind. Social cohesion (redefined) – Don’t ask questions. Don’t talk out of turn. Don’t speak your mind. Don’t call out injustice. Don’t stand up for the oppressed. Don’t…

All of my so-called colleagues are full-time blocked,Their status proudly carols - how busy they are!They're cold desked now attending all day meetings,Thralled indivisibly to colleagues both here and far.After my last quiet demotion, I am again solitary,My questions unanswered lost to fading twilight,I'm now a false guidance to wanderers unseen,My answers once recorded now lost in the circled…