Have you ever watched kids at play?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or listened to the rain falling on the ground?
Or gazed at the moon on a cloudy night?

You better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

When you ask "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
All you need is to slow down,
Give it a try?

When the day is done,
Do you lie in your bed,
With the next days chores,
Running through your head?

Ever told a friend or loved one,
We'll do it tomorrow,
And in your haste,
Not see their sorrow?

Lets not steam ahead in leaps and bounds,
When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the joy,
Of getting there.

Life is not a race.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift,
Thrown away.

So take it slow,
Breathe deep, do not run,
Listen to the music,
Before the song is done.

Graeme Dargie, Nov 1999

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Those Hands of Steel

Those Hands of Steel,
As they grip the wheel,
Driving along the long country roads,
Are now just a fond memory.

Those Hands of Steel,
That guided the wheel,
Driving day and night,
Would hold the roadtrain true.

Those Hands of Steel,
Would hold my hand,
In a vice like grip like an extension,
Of the warmth of the land.

Those Hands of Steel,
With those words of greeting,
"G’day Cobber!" will drift on the,
Breeze that he left behind.

Graeme Dargie, June 1991

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A Rose to Remember

A Rose of many colours,
So bright and so true,
A flower that bloomed all year through,
That is the Rose-etta I remember well.

A popular Rose,
Full of light and warmth,
Amongst the twined branches grew,
A Rose-etta I loved and knew.

A Rose so open to many,
Thorny, though always approachable,
A blossom that had no peer,
That is the Rose-etta that will live with me forever.

G Dargie Feb 1997

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Why do I miss him so?

If I could sit and count the way I miss him,
It would surely take a lifetime.
Memories remain more precious than jewels,
Some faded by the years,
Polished by remembrance.

I don't know how I feel.
Why is everything so complicated?
Why can't I just live my life without remorse?
Death should have been a blessing,
An end to the suffering.
And yet I feel cheated,
Cut off from something special.

There is a place in the centre of our garden,
His favourite Rose blossoms distill the air.
Silent, invisible, a rich bouquet,
Wafts over me with his memories,
Like a tidal wave of emotion.

Am I finished being his son?
Have I completed my love and devotion?
Why does remembering his birthday,
Fill me with such regret and pain.
I feel empty, alone, cold and in the dark.

Even thinking of him as my 'father who art in heaven',
Is no answer.
Perhaps the question will always remain,
Who do I miss him so?

G Dargie July 2000

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I tell of a brother who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
From the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came his date of birth,
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

The dash that spans a lifetime
He spent alive on earth…
Now only those who loved him
Knew what this little line was worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The jobs...the house...the cash,
What matters most is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
With your life's actions to rehash...
Don't leave it too late to change
how you spend your dash.

G Dargie April 2002

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