Moving Parts

Well I'm back and what a start to the year it has verily been. On a personal level, the two of us, along with the dogs, have moved to our no-mortgage, almost off-grid paradise. There are many, many things to finish. It will take months if not years, but it's starting to feel and look like home. Yesterday, I stopped to breathe and listen to the new sounds, really look at the environment around us, and get a feel for the place. Just over 16 years ago, our journey brought us here from a heavily populated urban area of a small and overcrowded country. Living in the town centre, I was accustomed to the constant noise: traffic, freight and passenger trains, the rowers on the river, and sirens both day and night. Arriving on the other side of the world to a very different climate, I learned to love the sounds of cicadas and geckos. Now, on this little island at the end of the world, I am woken by the soft coo of our chickens, the raucous laughter of the resident kookaburras and a plethora of birdsong.

Right now, outside my office window, there is no sound. Nothing. Nada.

I drag myself reluctantly back from my reverie as an eagle breaks the silence. The significance isn't lost on me. With half of my family in the eagle-worshipping land of those who once celebrated freedom, my consciousness is often dragged, kicking and screaming, to the headlines, the blogs, and the fake (or is it?) news. Only 13 days into the new year, and America is being torn apart. Once again, while the people rise up, those with the power to stop a madman's rampage through what remains of global sanity do nothing. A few talk a good talk, but still, no action. Surely it is less frightening to stop him than to allow him to keep going. Yet he seems determined that the world will end when he succumbs to his various ailments, either through the effects of global warming or WWIII. I suspect the latter would be quicker. The man knows he's got to shuffle off this mortal coil, but he's taking us all with him.

If you can answer 'no' to any of these questions, and enough people genuinely say 'no' like they mean it, we may just stand a chance.

1.             Is it OK that Trump invaded a country that is independent of America, kidnapping its president (who is admittedly a wanker) and his wife?

2.             Do you truly believe that Renee Nicole Good deserved to be called a 'Fucking Bitch' and murdered in cold blood?

3.             In your opinion, is it fine and dandy for Trump to even speculate out loud on taking Greenland by force?

If you can't, or even worse, if you answered 'yes' to all three, then you're a fuckwit and deserve everything you get.

Now that's out, I can go back to breathing, birdsong and a gentle, warm breeze.

What they call death & void,

We know is breath & voice;

In the end, gorgeously,

Endures our enormity.

Amanda Gorman (for Renee)