ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

THIS IS TRUTH
Maureen Clifford ©

A secret shared is no longer a secret.
A heart that's broken always feels the pain.
A harsh word spoken cannot be retracted.
Love not returned is still love just the same.

A truth will always out, though some deny it.
There can be no alteration of the facts.
And words, unless committed to paper,
are just words. No court will recognize the pact.

A young child's love and trust is just so precious,
a babe's first smile innocent and sweet.
Yet somewhere on life's journey we lose these precious things
and show harder outer shells to those we meet.
Perhaps we should step back, to the days when we were young;
when to be older was a thing for which we’d long.
How eagerly we waited for Christmas every year,
and in Church on Sundays raised our voice in song.

A chicken on the table with roast veggies was a treat,
enjoyed perhaps just once or twice a year.
Homemade Ice cream rich and creamy, and how we anticipated
tall cold glasses of Gran's special ginger beer.
We had no flash computers then, no TV's or I pods
and yet everyday to us just seemed real fine.
We'd play Cowboys and Indians and swim down in the creek,
have a bath and tea and be in bed by nine.

No fast food outlets to be seen. Just Vegemite on toast
or homemade Anzac biscuits from the stove.
We never once went hungry, but we weren't overfed,
butl were fitter and much healthier then I know.
But a secret shared is no longer a secret.
All these things have passed with the annals of time.
Even then children were molested, unloved and abused
and harsh upbringings turned some to a life of crime.

No marriage vows are taken, for there's few that see the worth
of just some words on paper both partners have signed.
Easily broken in the court, with it appears not a thought
to the turmoil for the children much maligned.
It seems that on the journey we have lost an awful lot.
But technology has made it easier today
Do you think so? I'm not sure.... for I know behind my door
there are untold hurts and secrets hid away.

I crave a gentler time and long for a quieter place
where peace abounds, worldwide, and there is love
for every living thing, and the simple joys life brings.
Far removed from modern days, thrust, push and shove.

Am I living in a dream? Perhaps, no doubt to some it seems
quite naïve - these simple pleasures that I seek.
But I'm sure I'm not alone...once your castle was your home.
And truth was something most folks then would speak.

Maureen, there is a lot of sadness and heartache in the world, that's for sure, but what can we do about it? We can each only affect the small part of the world around us, we can't change the whole world.

Are you having a downer like I was the other day? Chin up, buttercup!

Well put, - A lament for that which we seem to have lost, - something I guess we all feel as time progresses.

But then I remember things my parents/grandparents talked about in the same vein.

Years ago I read a letter to the editor that was criticising the youth of today, lack of respect, no moral values etc, etc, and thought yes well, we hear that a lot. Then I looked to the bottom and found it was quoting Aristotle, or someone of a similar era.

Some things never change!

Ain't that the truth Henry

All is well Kym - fear not...Mum always used to say if wishes were horses then beggars would ride...I have a lot of horses in my paddock Mate is all

Maureen we all work in circles in our lives. The big one ( A circle of Concern ) is the world and all the things we care about but can really do nothing about.

The smaller inner circle ( a circle of influence ) is where we live and can do something.

Do what you can in the little circle and the big one will look after itself.


Cheers Bob

I know Bob I know and I do try to do that as best I can, but it would be wonderful to live in a perfect world would it not?

G'day Maureen,

Remembering the past can be fun. However, I fear we mostly remember the good things and forget the bad.

My granddaughter had a school assignment (in year one mind you) to interview an older relative about what had changed since their childhood. I boiled down most of the differences into one word "Technology". Her eyes almost popped out of her head when I said we didn't have a car or TV. But when I told her there were no video games or movies, she could hardly believe it. She said "But what did you do?" I said "We went outside and used out imaginations and played".