Creative Ageing in Australia
By Mo Ors, 76. Gold Coast, QLD Never a gardener or a green thumb, I find that plants have always been a big part of my life. At school, one of my favourite subjects — part of sciences — was botany. I loved drawing the intricate parts of a leaf or a flower with a… Continue reading Gardens of My Soul
By Sally Ryhanen, 73. Caloundra, QLD I am a refugee from the corporate world with a disability — a 70-year-old Protestant work ethic — that has been sharpened, honed and weaponised for self-harm. I spawned a child with the same fierce ethic and christened him Obligation. A very nasty child, with an ugliness surpassed only… Continue reading Shekels Enough
By Margo Knox, 73. Gold Coast, QLD It wasn’t an innocent gestureThe piercing whistle came from oneWhile the others nodded The scaffolding blocked the footpathA thankful roundabout walk of younger yearsA safety switch from the predation of young menWho did not see privilege in their actionBut a right to covert the bodies of othersFor their… Continue reading I Was Only 16
By Mo Ors, 76. Gold Coast, QLD Contrary to the common belief that migrants in Australia mostly come from poor, uneducated economic and cultural backgrounds, I’m one of the many examples to dispel that notion. I arrived in Australia in the 1960s as a teenager with my parents who were both professional people, affluent, and… Continue reading Citizen of the World
By John Stewart, 67. Gold Coast, QLD I had just left for my holiday,Been makin' plans for weeks.Took my campervan to cruise the highwayTo be ‘round gum trees, rivers and creeks. On my first night I slept under countless stars,All noises sound different out here.It was great to not hear the angry screech of hot… Continue reading Outback Holiday
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