Creative Ageing in Australia
By Tessa, 65. Somers, VIC It came as a shock. Mid-morning, I was about to make coffee. My niece had died, suddenly. It was savage. It had been six months since her mother, my sister, died. A stroke and she was gone within 24 hours. There was nothing they could do, they said. It was… Continue reading Loss and Opportunity (Que Será, Será)
By Moira, 66. Renmark West, SA Feeling the shame, Losing the calm,Carrying the blame,Needing the balm. Moving past the stress,Knowing I am loved,Wishing to blessLooking up above. Accepting limitations,Knowing I have value,Peaceful contemplations,No longer am I blue.
By Margaret, 73. Melbourne, VIC Each year my girlfriends and I have a reunion together. Once we were six. Now we are five. At Jane’s funeral, Lynne rose to deliver the eulogy. She surprised the Melbourne congregation by rotating in the pulpit in her baggy old school pinafore, salvaged from our last day of school… Continue reading For Jane
By Agi, 73. Korumburra, VIC
A brief reflection on adjusting to semi-retirement. By Tessa, 65. Somers, VIC Years back, a colleague of mine moved to New Zealand to live with her new partner. At the time, we were both Directors of Nursing at a large metropolitan health service. She gave up her high-powered job for love. But also, with the mind to… Continue reading How Did I Ever Have Time to Work?
By Leonie, 78. Port Fairy, VIC It was down at Crooked Creek under the shade of the willowsYou tilted the brim of my hat and pressed your lips against my cheekYou sought my mouth and I panicked, running crazy into the shallowsWhat brings you back when I must close my ear to the words you… Continue reading Crooked Creek
By Paul, 76. Cobram, VIC A halo round the fading moon,Sweet mist upon the grass.The croak of frogs from yon lagoon,A flight of ducks wing past.A dingo howls farewell to night,The crimson sunrise comes.The dawn is here to start the day,All hail the rising sun! That blazing orb now bakes the plains,Heat shimmers on the… Continue reading A Day in the Bush
By Bridget, 61. Christie Downs, SA Look! It’s way up there in the high cupboard beyond arm's reach standing silent and alone waiting far too long for flowers that never come
By John, 72. Kangaroo Ground, VIC I can remember it so clearly, as if it only happened yesterday: As I walked very briskly from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan I rehearsed my precise instructions. The stranger I was to meet would be loitering close to Hibiya Park fountain, where he or she would be… Continue reading The Flower in the Buttonhole
By Tessa, 65. Somers, VIC I am slowing down. My lifestyle, not my brain or my body — though ageing does reduce the pace at which one can run! It’s been a gradual process I’ve been coming to, particularly as I (and others) have struggled through the last few years in a pandemic. At one… Continue reading Slowing Down
By Cora, 77. Ravenshoe, QLD Any minute now, Roger would watch Tessa walk out the door for the last time. Oh, sure, he would see her again, might see her around town a few times before she flew halfway across the country. She wouldn’t be there with him every day, though, as she had for… Continue reading Last Day
By Nancy, 79. Adelaide, SA Leaving Home, 1956It was the end of March 1956. I had turned sixteen on the 3rd and had put into place my plans for escaping the very restricted conditions of the parental home. My parents were both born in the 1900s in a small village called Fossacesia in the Abruzzo… Continue reading The Adventure Years: A Memoir
By Lella, 82. Ivanhoe, VIC I’m in Bolzano — the city in Trentino Alto Adige that delineates the boundary between Italy and Austria. Cutting through Bolzano’s heart is the Adige River. While the sun makes a pale appearance, I lean over the railings on the Ponte d’Adige spanning the river. A wind hissing down from… Continue reading Mid-May 2019
By Karen, 65. Sydney, NSW Don’t mean to brag, but I’m a Triathlete, of some repute. This happened on one of my first races as part of the Australian team, competing overseas in Honolulu. World Champs, Olympic distance race. Great course around parkland one end of the famous Waikiki strip. All race set, fit, jumping… Continue reading Good Sport
By Ted, 73. Warnbro, WA After major surgery, I spent six weeks immobilised in bed. Before the days of motorised hospital beds, I was laid horizontal on a flat bed, drugged and weak, making it hard to move my own muscles. Every six hours, a team of six people would rotate my body 90 degrees:… Continue reading Healing in Colour
By Carolyn, 75. Adelaide, SA Rose looked up at the sky. The weather was picture perfect. Damn, she muttered to herself. Normally she would have been delighted, but today, of all days, she wanted it to rain. Come to think of it, hail would be better. Anything to put people off coming. Right little sticky… Continue reading Rose
By Allan, 77. Salisbury North, SAThere is a secret door and it has a secret lock.It is only for me to know, how it is and where it is.It is never far away, the secret door.I think none know about my secret door, for a secret shared is no secret anymore.I sometimes hint about it,… Continue reading The Secret Door
By Lesley-Anne, 67. Christie Downs, SA It was our first day in Delhi. Visiting India had always been on my bucket list, and I was excited to leave the comfort of our hotel and get out into the streets and see the real India. We spent the first part of the morning wandering around the… Continue reading A Memorable Meal ~ Delhi, India; September 2019
By Johanna Elizabeth, 70. Melbourne, VIC Time to look ahead,Remember, don’t be leadInto places where you don’t want to go. Stand tall, breathe and just let it flow. Ask for help if that’s what you need,Don’t look back, look ahead and lead. Look for reasons to just keep going. Believe in yourself and your light will be glowing. … Continue reading STAY STRONG
By Pam, 72. Perth, WA I am a human writer. I’ve been human for 72 years now! (As of last Sunday, actually!) My childhood was in England, an only child. Mum had three miscarriages, so I was forever making friends so I had someone to play with. I was quite good at that, though lonely… Continue reading Me, in a Nutshell
By Terence, 72. Doonside, NSW Where have you gone, I wish you were here What did I say, was my meaning not clear When I looked in your eyes, saying I would be true That time would not change, what you knew that I knew The years that have passed, time just ticking away Hair… Continue reading Time
By Dr. Marguerette Joyce Hill, 72. Adelaide, SA Betty Boswell was awakened by the sound of weeping. She was a light sleeper. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. It was almost midnight. Keiko was in trouble again. In the dark, Betty rose from under her covers and stood at the window of… Continue reading Betty Boswell
By Rayna, 77. Sandy Beach, NSW As the sun dips on the horizon, Harry slowly places the binoculars back in their case. His arms ache and his eyes sting from scanning the skies all afternoon. Knowing there won’t be any sign of him now, he trudges back to his cottage. Charlie never flies at night. … Continue reading Sixteen Missions
By Alice Richardson, 77. Elizabeth, SA The winter tree stands naked; exposed; vulnerable. It remembers the beauty of spring; fragrant colourful blossoms, sparkling green leaves, the warmth of summer, the birds that nested amongst its foliage and the tiny fledgling’s insistent ‘hungry’ chirps demanding food. They flutter and venture further and further from the nest,… Continue reading SO THIS IS OLD?
By Dr. Marguerette Joyce Hill, 72. Adelaide, SA Philip clung desperately to his expensive Panama hat with one hand and to the rusty window sill of the ute with the other as they bumped, rattled and lurched wildly along the dusty, unpaved road of the Australian outback. He clutched his overnight bag between his knees.… Continue reading Gone Walkabout