Tag: tears
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The Sound of Men Not Crying
Grief came quiet—shoved in gloveboxeswith old rego papersand blunt toolskept for no reason. Tears weren’t banned,just lostbetween Dad’s silenceand busted knuckles,between she’ll be rightand a doorthat clicks shut slow. We didn’t crywhen the dog died,didn’t cry at the funeral,didn’t crywhen she walked out. Just sat there.Fence posts in floodwater. We breakin the gut,in the jaw,in…
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Tearing Sunshine
Mum moves like rinse water—warm, grey,going where she’s poured.Hands red-rawfrom bleach and bonesshe can’t scrub clean.She hums when she’s bone-tired,not for tune,just to keep from cracking. Dad says work is hard—but only ever sits,rail grease on his boots,beer in hand,trophy beside him:Highest Goal Scorer,1983. He holds it like a woundthat never scabbed.Says he could’ve been…
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Tōrō Nagashi
Your flame flickers briefly— a parting whisper. Some trick of the river mimics your laughter. We stand apart at sunset, lost in natsukashii, come together in darkness, to watch the dead pass on. Your light has fallen now to shadow beneath the bridge. Ryan Stone First published on Napalm and Novocain, January 2016 Published at Poetry…
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Irish Fire
My grandmother called it Irish fire, said it raged through my father hotter than Beli Mawr’s bum. She was long dead when it finally flared fiercer than he could contain. The embers of his eyes scorched childhood’s last leaves to ash, left them smoldering. Ryan Stone
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Dog Days
There’s a lot going on in the world today. My TV stays off for sanity’s sake. Another school. Child. Innocent. Betrayal. And fear, like a flag hanging over it all. When sorrow engulfs me, I almost feel guilty– how does an old paw print eclipse any of that? But my sphere spins slowly, the breeze…
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The Journey Home
She tells me her pain is a squall, sudden and vicious, like a flash storm whipping in from Bass Strait to batter King Island. Do you remember our Island, Garth? Her doctors build shelters; nurses batten hatches, but this tempest won’t blow over. She says her pain is a vulture now, circling the desert on…
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For a time
For a time You were everything. Your smile Lit sparks That raced Down my spine, My heart skipped a beat When you Spoke to me. The world paused So we could run free. You seemed so divine For a time. Things always change. Forever’s a dream, Every summer Has rain. I stopped being The light…
