Tag: Northern Territory

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJun 27, 20171:09 pm

Gosse Bluff, from the Mereenie Loop, Northern Territory, Australia

Wheels

All I really need
Are wheels

And the fuel
To keep them rolling

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 22, 201611:27 am

Sandstone Domes, Watarrka National Park, Kings Canyon, Northern Territory, Australia

Fairy Tale Lands

I live in a world
Of fairy tale lands
I thought only possible
In the imaginations of
Novelists and filmmakers

Until I went exploring

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 21, 20168:14 am

Roadside Ghost Gums, Simpson Desert, Stuart Highway, Near Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia

The Ghosts I’ve Left Behind

In all these years of travel
Geographically
Professionally
Personally
Emotionally
I’ve stopped, from time to time
To look back and count
All the ghosts I’ve Left Behind

I’ve wondered, too
Is this the nature of travel
Or the nature of me

Poetry by Patrick JenningsNov 3, 201611:45 pm

Uluru, Ayer's Rock, Northern Territory, Australia

The Land Which Fell on its Side

One day
Geologically speaking
The land rose up
Then fell back to Earth
Landing on its side
Where it took a long
Long
Very long
Rest
Even geologically speaking

And as it lies there
Like a cat on blanket
Napping in the afternoon sun
Coming through the window
Mother Nature soothes
Its hard, rigid body
With a massage of
Wind, rain and
Savage heat

Poetry by Patrick JenningsOct 31, 20167:00 am

Ghost Gum, Stuart Highway, Near Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia

Ghosts

I held you
In my arms
Stroking yours
Skin white and smooth

Like the ghost gums
In the Red Centre
I would come to know
Centuries later

I held you
While you grew cold
Your eyes
Already clouding

My body emptied
Of presence
Hollowed
By your absence

Poetry by Patrick JenningsOct 10, 201610:14 am

The Mereenie Loop, Grassland, Near Gosse Bluff, Northern Territory, Australia

The Singing Land

In this land
Of endless grass
And rolling hills
With scattered trees
And clinging brush

We roll on through
With singing tires
On bitumen
Both dreaming of
This singing land

Poetry by Patrick JenningsSep 11, 201610:58 am

Stone and Wood and Time, Kata Tjuta, The Olgas, Northern Territory, Australia

Withering ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #54

Look at you!
Said the stone
Sun has had his way
Now you are naught
But gray
And withering
While I?
Sun has burnished me
Patinaed stone
Bright red, you see

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJul 6, 20165:16 pm

Patrick Jennings, Twin Falls, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

Learning Humility

I walked through the world
With a mighty swagger
Until humiliation
Taught me humility
Until poverty
Taught me what to value
Until failure
Taught me grace

Now I walk with a gentle deference
Listen, when I might have spoken
Forgive, when I might have challenged
Let go, when I might have held on

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJun 24, 20167:00 am

Old Telegraph Building, Gregory Highway, Queensland, Australia

The Walls I Erect

The walls I erect
To protect myself from others
Define me

After a while
All anyone sees of me
Is the walls

After a while
All that is left of me
Is the walls

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJun 23, 20166:16 am

Macdonnell Ranges, Mereenie Loop, Northern Territory, Australia

Glimpses

Sometimes

I only have a glimpse
Of the way ahead
Through difficult terrain
Many sections of the path
Remain obscured
And the final destination
Still lies beyond
The visible horizon