Homecoming

Last year I started work looking at my Australian Connections.  Recently my eldest grandson was asking about my Dad, his great-grandfather, who was born in Brisbane and came to England in 1931.  I had sent him various bits of information I had gathered about my Dad and so it was uppermost in my mind as I attended this week's poetry zoom workshop.

I think the little boy hanging over the rail in the middle is my Dad on the SS Hobsons Bay as it was leaving Adelaide in 1931.  They had boarded the ship in Brisbane and already called in at Sydney on the way.

In the poetry workshop we were looking at Assonance.  This is the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close to each other. It is usually the sound rather than the letter used that is important.

We were set this challenge: Write a poem exploring an aspect of history or an historical incident/event/activity - can be personal, local or global. Pay particular attention to your use of assonance to give appropriate ‘music’ and emotional tone as you shift focus, emotion and subject.

SO here it is:

Homecoming 

Boarding the ship
The queue unhurried,
One step, and then another
moving slowly, dragging cases
filled with all their worldly goods.
So much left behind.
Toys, books, school, friends. 

Thudding into life
the engines churned,
throbbing through the walls
and floors. The ropes
untied and drawn aboard.
The noise and clamour
of shouted goodbyes.

The three children jumped
up and down, excited
by their new adventure.
Leaving Brisbane behind. 

Brisbane to Sydney.
Sydney to Melbourne.
Each port leaving a fond farewell.
Melbourne to Adelaide.
Adelaide to Fremantle.
Australia left behind.

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean
with no more boarding
or fond farewells
boredom set in.
Games played over and over
until they no longer had meaning.
Adrift at sea, wave upon wave
Nothing between them
and the horizon. 

Fremantle to Colombo.
At last some land in sight.
The last leaving, or so they hoped.
No longer the warmth of southern sun
but cloudy grey and cold
As the engine thudded
and throbbed its way
to a land they’d never known. 

But first more landings
Colombo to Port Said.
Port Said to Malta
and the last leaving.

Day after day, week after week
The engines drummed their ears.
Until, at last, the terminal port.
And their final leaving.
A homecoming of sorts
in a land they’d never known.

Thanks for being here today
Bernice

Abstract

For the photography theme this month I chose Abstract as in 'simplified forms or forms with no basis in reality, such as geometric shapes or gestural marks'.

Metal sculpture

Marks in stone

Geometric pattern

Decaying fabric

An abstract painting in an exhibition

These photos may not totally fit that definition but hey! artistic licence.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Cutting It Up

Way back in August I told you about how I had written out my poem on calico using masking fluid.

I left it alone because I didn't like the piece and couldn't think of what I could do to it to be able to finish it.  Eventually after I got back from Australia in mid-October, I cut it up into strips.

Then I piece it back together with strips of undyed calico, making it landscape instead of portrait.

I left it again for a couple of weeks before bonding the words 'fettered' and 'unfettered onto it.

The 'unfettered' doesn't really show up until you get close to it.  I decided to running stitch round the letters.

I finished the letter outlines and then added musical notes.  I have been having a lot of problems lately with getting bondaweb to bond properly.  I love Mistyfuse but you can't draw on it because it doesn't have a backing sheet.  I tried ironing it onto freezer paper but it stuck to the paper.  Fortunately I found some HeatnBond in my stash and tried that.  It seems to be successful.

All that's left to do is add the binding.  However first, I need to decide whether the binding shows as an edge or not.  I'll let you know what I decide.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice