Ashburton Lakes

Last weekend we went to the Ashburton Lakes. First we drove to Lake Clearwater. It is about a two hour drive from Christchurch The last part you drive on a gravel road. At lake Clearwater there are about a 100 baches. These baches were all rented by the Lord of the ring crew as only half an hour further down the gravel road was the Edoras set from this movie. Not a surprise as this part of the world is stunning.

Beautiful lakes surrounded by snow topped mountains. Around Lake Clearwater is a 3 hour track but we have to do that another day as my husband forgot his jacket and it was pretty chilly. The good thing was that therefore we had time to visit Lake Heron as well. We had a picnic and drove back to Mount Somers a small town nestled at the foothills of the Southern Alps. A bit further down the road is Staveley were there is a cafe and the road to Mount Somers forest where we walked part of a track.

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I received love

prompt safety for Poets United

I received love 

I have been in a place where

shining silver fell of stars
leaving black spikes to cut me
safety dissolved in a puddle of ruby red
there was nowhere to run
I looked at the bare teeth of life
and before I could breathe
I was eaten by darkness
I stood there in the night
like a bare boned tree
lifting its many arms up to the sky
pleading for help

My prayers got answered
I took refuge in the eyes
of one who’s skin I never felt
but who touched me beyond the flesh
so deep that I could hear entrancing
echoes bouncing off a thousand walls
I buried this sound in silk tears
which like lapping waves
flushed away my sorrow
creating a space for singing violins
Hands grabbed around the slender
waist of my feelings to
toss them into silk dreams
My god I received a love

Poetry of dance

Prompt Dance for poetry United 

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself. Havelock Ellis

Poetry of dance

Coordination is for me a foreign language
I stumble and stagger through life
Till someone turns on the music
My body breaks through its constraints
with the force of a tree bursting through a boulder
I surrender to the sound
swaying like moved by a soft breeze
emotions get channelled into muscles
the language of the soul converted to the body
my heart erupts
joy, sadness, pain and pride
disperses into the air
in the remaining dust lies freedom

Don't you love how exquisite dancers
turn motion into marvel
I breathe in their passion hanging in thin air
which feels like leaning into purple pastures
an atmosphere thick with fragrance
at the end a longing lover, open armed
inviting his partner into the depth of his embrace
igniting her in a pas the deux

They circle and spin like butterflies
Their shadows sink in symmetry
Their hands stretch and dwindle like leaves
moving gently and gracefully
arms widen and fold like wings
setup to soar into emptiness
to fill it with vibration
a choreography of atoms
swarming in unity
Positively charging me
when I watch them dancing to
the edge of beauty
like moving lines of poetry

Advice from the moon

Advice from the moon

Gazing at the sky I realised
that stars are too far to reach
The moon looked through me
eyed my hopes and dreams
and peeled the clouds away
My dreams became visible 
Swiftly I covered them
as they might get burned
lying naked under the sun.
The moon tilted his head
and whispered
Don't worry!
Wear your dreams like perfume
the scent is your soul
wafting its identity.
It will smell of passion
It will smell of love
This love has the strength
to raise you when you fall
to lift you to the Milky way
My mood was mixed with earthy
musk and honeysuckle when I
misted a little magic on my wrist

I can predict the weather

Prompt weather for Poets United

I can predict the weather

I can predict the weather 

but I can’t temper the thunder
I can’t settle a storm
No, I am the observer
looking at a hazel horizon
in the shimmering twilight

I watch a drama unfold
the sky scattered with
reflections of the scenes
of people clashing in conflict
fuming with fright
Only pocket size sparks
of the convulsive storm
reach me but I don’t let them in
The air is too heavy

Yesterday I stepped to
the other side of the sky
striving to sooth some souls
covering them with a velvety veil,
filtering out the hard light,
turning the focus on the freedom
to choose the pastels
rather than black clouds
The air appeared calm than
ripened into an outburst of rain

Today, I rest and retreat
getting drunk on music and poetry
indulge in dreams and chocolate
leaving the world outside
I can predict the weather
I can’t control the storm

Winter walks in Christchurch

I love it when we have frost at night then you get these clear beautiful crispy days. Time for walks in our beautiful city
Walk 1

View from the track around the Sugerloaf tower

View on Governors Bay

When walking through the bush I discovered these polypores Aren't they gorgeous

Walk 2

View on Christchurch city

View on South Brighton

View on Redcliffs and Brighton