Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Month: November 2019

Poetry Challenge – Week Forty-Seven

Week 47 words from @green_woodsmith: integrity, electric, celebrate, joy and sage.

welcome joy

celebrate life

sing off key

dance in public

be a flash mob of one

it's electric

and contagious

you don't need a sage

preaching from the stage

all you need to do

is set your inner child free

trust me, your integrity is fine

and who needs dignity anyway?

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the forty-seventh week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

I usually get to the end of the week and start dreading the poem I have to write. It's my impatience talking. It wants me to churn out the perfect poem, first time, every time. This week I had a little chat to my impatience and told it to pull its head in. It'll about the process I said. We're going to enjoy the process of creating a poem this week so back in your box.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

November 29, 2019
A Sense of Wonder

I snuck out of town for a couple of days last weekend to visit a very good friend who has just moved to Tassie. She's swapped the congestion of inner city Melbourne for acreage near Deloraine in the Central Western Tiers. It's a little piece of paradise.

She woke me early on the first morning to let me know the platypus was swimming in the dam. Half asleep, I threw on a jumper over my pjs and rushed out the door. Luckily the platypus was still there and it didn't seem to mind our quiet voices marvelling as it swam around the dam, diving below the surface and disappearing behind the half submerged tree branch or nosing along the bank.

Apparently it was a different platypus to the one that had spent the day in their dam about a week before. Which means there are two platypuses (at least) in their area. Amazing.

I've never seen a platypus in the wild before and it was incredible how unafraid and unconcerned it was with our presence. I'm now filled with questions. What do they eat? Where do they live? How far do they travel? They usually come out at night so why was this one and the other out during the day?

Mostly thought, I feel gratitude for this incredible gift and a sense of wonder.

November 27, 2019
Touching the Sky

It's been thirteen years since I've had a window seat on a plane. These days it's my girls who get to peer out the window while I sit in the aisle. The view from up there is incredible. Especially when you're flying from Launceston to Melbourne as I did. I'd forgotten how amazing it is.

I was filled with wonder (and I must admit, a little bit of trepidation – there's that moment just after take-off when it seems as if the very idea of flight is impossible and we'll drop back down to earth) as I was flying over land, sea and cloud formations that looked like their own versions of islands. It's an amazing thing we do, flying like the birds. I'm so very grateful to all the engineers and pilots who make it happen.

November 25, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Forty-Six

Week 46 words from @haiku_cats: soft, deception, coy, shrewd and compassion.

there's no sleight of hand

or conjurer's trick

with the soft, silk scarves

or a coy assistant

being sawn in half

no, the only deception

being practiced here

is self delusion

watched with shrewd eyes

and a twinge of compassion

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the forty-sixth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

The poem is my second attempt at this week's words. Sometimes I can get it in one go if I've had time to think about the words. Other times it takes agonising days of squeezing words out of stone. The process wasn't too bad this week although I have a nagging thought that I could do better if I gave myself time. No matter – publish before you're ready and all that so here it is.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

November 22, 2019
The National Portrait Gallery

When I was in Canberra I made some time to stop off at the Portrait Gallery. Years ago when I lived there it was located in old Parliament House. It now has it very own, purpose built building squished in next to and in front of the High Court of Australia. I'm not sure what to make of the building – actually, that's not true at all. It looks very odd and out of place as if it's been added as an after thought.

No matter, the collection inside the building was wonderful. Portraits weren't limited to stiff, posed and formal paintings of venerable citizens. Thank goodness. There were sculptures, busts and miniatures. Paintings, photographs and even a tapestry.

My favourite was this portrait of Midnight Oil painted by eX de Medici. While she was working on this commission for the National Portrait Gallery she was also running her Canberra based tattoo business. Her name is familiar to me as my husband has a tattoo inked by her on his leg. I had no idea that at the time she was making tatts she was also painting this incredible portrait using quills cut from the feathers of wedge-tailed eagles and pigments from the bark of mangrove trees in Kakadu which forms the backdrop for the painting. On the necks of the band are patterns from wings on moths in the Kakadu region.

We made it through the first two rooms before smallest of all was hungry and had had enough. I did manage to sneak into the little shop at the end which was wonderful. I do love a good museum gift shop – so thoughtfully curated with beautiful art objects. I'll definitely be coming back to see the rest of the collection and pick up some treasures at the gift shop.

November 18, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Forty-Five

Week 45 words from @smart_graphy: orange, newspaper, cold, wasteland and suicide.

suicide has never been an option

not when the newspaper is filled

with cataclysmic catastrophes

and despair dogs my steps

not even when the cold wind blows

though the wasteland

littered with my bones

no suicide has never been an option

because there is always

the magnificent

orange, pink, purple

of dawn's new day

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the forty-fifth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

The writing of this week's poem was somewhat overshadowed by technical issues I was having in getting my online graphic design program to work. Luckily while my conscious mind was trying to jump through all the technical hoops, the lovely old subconscious was working away on the important stuff. Hooray for the subconscious!

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

November 15, 2019
The Insider’s Guide

I like travelling to visit friends. There's the excitement and pleasure of a road or plane trip. The anticipation of adventures to come. The packing and organising beforehand. I really enjoying the process of whittling down my possessions to the bare essentials although I must admit I'm a little out of practice and was guilty of over packing significantly for this trip! With the bare essentials comes lightness and freedom of movement. And of course, being in my friend's house and catching up over cups of tea.

One of the best things about visiting friends is they take you to places you would never ordinarily go. Introduce you to the best hot chocolate in the world where the chocolate comes from a fountain and is drizzled into the glass (Madeline's in Leura if you're wondering). Buy the tastiest sourdough bread ever for lunch (Black Cockatoo bakery in Lawson).

They take you well off the beaten track to a stable in the middle of the most incredible valley, surrounded by sandstone bluffs. There you meet their daughter's horse, a gentle giant named Bear. You get to stroke his nose and marvel that such an enormous creature lets people ride on his back.

Travelling to see friends – it's the best way to travel.

November 13, 2019
Heading for the Hills

After the launch of Mountain Secrets (the Ginninderra Press anthology of poems) I spent time with my family exploring the Blue Mountains. I haven't explored the area for years. When we come we usually catch up with friends and miss all the spectacular scenery. This time, however, we made sure to get out and see the incredible landscape.

Our first stop was Govett's Leap Gorge, just down the road from the book launch. The view from here was spectacular. I could easily spend all day here sipping cups of tea and drinking in the view. The lovely G and the girls did a walk here down to the waterfall while I was busy at the launch.

The next day we headed to Leura for the waterfall walk. We managed to see the upper cascades and start down the path to the lower cascades before the heavens opened and we ran laughing back up the wet and muddy path to shelter.

I'm so glad we made the time to go out and explore. There's so many wonderful things to see and do, just waiting on our doorstep if only we make the time.

November 11, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Forty-Four

Week 44 words from @stephaniegotzepoetry: clover, font, mesmerise, collapse and pine.

I want to make a font

I'm going to call it clover

I'll collapse the serifs

emphasise the downstroke

add a waft of pine

voila!

designed to mesmerise

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the forty-fourth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

It was hard to come back home from my fabulous road trip and knuckle down to the daily routine. Making time to write this poem was particularly challenging with all my other competing priorities. The ones like washing the dishes and cleaning the house that I didn't have to worry about while I was travelling. But write it I did although I have doubts people. Many doubts about this one.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

November 8, 2019
Preserving the Harvest

When we visited my parents in Canberra last week, we picked a huge box of lemons from their tree. And there were still so many more left on the tree. Now I understand why in the old days, people would spend some much time canning and preserving fruit. It's hard to see all that goodness going to waste. And unlike the sweet stone fruits of peaches, cherries and nectarines, the birds aren't all that interested in lemons!

I had the brain wave of making preserved lemons with the huge supply. I've never tasted them but I did remember seeing a recipe calling for them some time back. They're used in Moroccan cooking which I'm keen to explore in the future. I figure if I have preserved lemons on hand, it's all the more likely!

We used a recipe from Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion which my mum had in her cookbook collection. It was very simple and a lot like making sauerkraut. It was the first time I've sterilised bottles which was exciting. I love a goof first! Now we just have to wait for month to taste the results. Fingers crossed it works!

November 6, 2019