Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

Filmed in 1985 around Northbridge, inside the burnt-out Swan Brewery, at MidWestTV studios and a very different Perth Railway Station, was another video called: ‘Shattered Windows’ .

My daughter was 8 – thought being there was great watching Pete and I do our thing.

It was the 1st Music Video film-partners Peter A. and I did when we started SPHINX Productions back in 1985.  Totally scripted, directed and produced by yours truly, the video won Best Cinematography for Peter in the WA Young Filmmakers Awards at the Film & TV Institute in Fremantle.

The original song was written by a break-dancing duo who won the Talent Competition I ran at the Riverton & Kelmscott Hotels in 1983.  Wonder where they are now?

Apart from $1,000, their prize included this video clip made by Sphinx Productions, the little production company a young but very talented Peter and I set up in 1985.

#FTIYoungFilmakersAward   #ShatteredWindows  #SwanBrewery  #Northbridge  #PerthRailwayStn  #Mid-WesternTV  #MusicVideo  #SphinxProductions

Looking through my archives on Vimeo, I’ve found a little video I put together with firstly photos from the 2009 and vision (with sound) of the parade in the 2010 Moondyne Festivals held in Toodyay.

On the way home I wrote a poem inspired by the evidence of recent bushfires in the landscape which was later published by the International Centre for Landscape and Language Journal, Edith Cowan University.

Toodyay. 

black ash still lay

where fire had licked

with devil tongues

across the road-side gravel

a careless cigarette

city slicker thrown

on community fun day

to re-enact Moondyne Joe

quick fire prowled up

summer-dry gullies

stand of trees ridge

wind break – not fire-breaker

no escape allowed

as bright yellow jackets

smother white foam

contain the bush fire danger

gumtree pale striped

old bark peeled back

green growth beauty

black trees juxtaposed

fresh life canopies

halt dieback spores

spiked hair sprouts

thousand years and counting

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2010

#POEM:Toodyay  #MoondyneJoe  #MoondyneFestivals  #ToodyayWA  #poetry  #FrancesMacaulayForde

Inspired by this photo on the  Sky Cafe Blog, I wrote a Haiku.  Unfortunately the blog is no longer accessible.  Gone the way of many clever webpages, which is such a shame, I enjoyed the fabulous photography on there.

At the time, I assumed it was a photo of Singapore Harbour but today, searching the internet so I can credit the photo appropriately, I discovered similar photos taken of Vancouver Harbour.

So if anyone can help me credit the photo, I would greatly appreciate it.

Vancouver 

Clouds growl as

red spiders walk

into the lion’s mouth.

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2004

#HAIKU:Vancouver  #SkyCafeBlog  #FrancesMacaualyForde  #Poetry  #SingaporeHarbour  #VancouverHarbour

Periodically, I read poems posted on a blog called Write Out Loud even now and then, post one or two myself. 

Last week, one of my favourite contributors, David Moore posted a poignant poem which reminded me so much of my dad. 

With his kind permission I am reprinting it here but if you’d like to hear David read it as well, go directly to the original posting by clicking this link for Write Out Loud. 

The Empty Chair

The empty chair is unimpressed

its vacant care bereft, un-blessed,

with threadbare arms and scuffed footrest

in lonely sitting room, undressed.

It squats in rays of slatted light

unknowing of the day or night,

no to and fro of padding feet

it’s just a chair, so incomplete.

The chair is nothing now he’s gone

just something he once sat upon,

where soon there’ll be an empty space

for something else to take its place.

David Moore © 2019

#Poem:TheEmptyChair   #DavidMoore   #WofgarMiere   #Sadness   #Loss  #Poetry  #WriteOutLoud

In honour of one of my favourite nieces getting married on a cruise ship somewhere very exotic, I am reminded of this poem which I have published today, here on Write Out Loud  (click to read the poem) with it’s original title, ‘I am love’.

In 2004, I was asked to write something to be read at the wedding of an honorary nephew.   Normally I don’t write poetry ‘to order’, preferring to let poems ‘grab’ me, but knowing how romantic he is – and the special request for something to be ‘signed’ by an interpreter, I found I was inspired.

It was a challenge because, not only was I going to be presenting something to wedding guests who in the majority would not be ‘into’ poetry, but also to be careful to tailor the words to interpretation for many audience who were hearing impaired, some profoundly ‘deaf’.

Poetry lovers love ‘shmultzy’ and rhyme but non-poetry lovers hate that.  So I had to be mindful of my construction and rather, chose to speak as if making a vow which most of the audience would expect at a wedding.

And because I used dust as my analogy, the interpreter had a challenge to sign my words ~  there’s no sign for ‘dust’ so the lady also had to be inventive whilst keeping up with the rest of the poem.

The poem was read as part of the wedding ceremony and I have to say (I’m a sucker for a pretty wedding)  it was difficult not letting the emotion overwhelm my reading, so I paced myself carefully, allowing for surreptitious gulps between sentences.

As I finished there was a heavy, deathly silence in which I died a hundred deaths thinking the wedding guests had hated my words but was shocked when suddenly this tremendous applause burst out to cover the sniffs.  There was barely a dry eye!  Barry’s Mum particularly loved the words and her deaf friends asked for copies of the poem.

It’s been used at a few weddings now and in cards, so you are also welcome to use it.  If you do include it in your special day, please let me know, just as a courtesy.

Thanks ~ and may you always be surrounded by dust…

#WeddingDay  #Poetry  #WeddingVows  #Romance  #Love  #POEM:LikeDust  #FrancesMacaulayForde