daughter

A Snowball’s Chance...

Collapsing on the learner's slope at Aspen
I skied downhill into Hell.
I can recall as my aneurism burst,
Clutching snow; then an acrid smell.

The devil came striding toward me.
Still feeling mortal, I did as mortals do:
I squeezed the icy crystals into a ball
And, hard as I could, I threw!

It melted as it left my phantom fingers
Resolving into a dew.
Satan cackled, "Son! The fun has just begun!
Every cliché here comes true!"

Que Bella!

My Father Forgot

The Great Ocean Road

A hot-wired spirit sparking in the rain,
you jolted me to life, unfroze my heart,
and all my tangled currents you'd explain
as if you read my bathymetric chart.
We ran with leaf-shaped boards into the sea,
birds wheeling, wave noise tossing up white spray;
I dived, holding your breath, and learnt to breathe
on southern coasts where fire and water play.