Helen O’Toole is a Sydney-based writer who has written an inspiring coming-of-age memoir about resilience, family, friendship and survival
A community and information hub for writers
Helen O’Toole is a Sydney-based writer who has written an inspiring coming-of-age memoir about resilience, family, friendship and survival
Wanderin’ Soul, Unfold He plucked the first note. An E or G sharp? Venus not too far, Blindingly bright. La Peña la Platería’s garden Seemed boundless tonight. White and blue on the walls, Not the paints, just whitewash Meeting sky, the blue. Alhambra on the horizon, The moon took the night off. Four o’clock flowers…
Al-Be-Tray Not many years had passed Since the world swore away Blasts and flames, Choosing instead the roar Of rebellion in disguise Cloaked as charm and peace: The art-loving warmakers. It was a sad dawn When Mozart awoke to the rock and roll, The trash was called Rolling Stones, And knew that noise had become…
Celebration Life wants to live, Humans perceive. Life gives all creatures Animated and still, A chance, at least once, To walk the realm of words. When a child is conceived It’s not the making of parents, Particles and dust are all summoned, Not a double helix, but a tree of life, With different pasts and…
The loop Midsummer night, Almuñécar. A bride in white flowing silk Dancing on the sea To the cicadas’ chorus. I looked up, smiled, As if unearthing the greatest secret. Then I wondered What the world of atoms is like. A star winked. One day, Walking towards Plaza de Trinidad. Boys, girls, hand in hand, Eyes…
Demon or Angel? Neither! Neither good Nor bad Comes at birth. Good and bad Are learnt traits, Stone Age relics. Neither beauty Nor ugliness Is innate. Beauty and ugliness Are trained perceptions, Marketing’s coins. Alluring roses, bittersweet lips, Conjurer’s tricks Thrilling, yet inflicting twists. All transient clouds, Not worth killing or dying, Part of the…
Los diablos trabajan Soy un extranjero para ti y para este mundo. Estas son mis observaciones personales. Lee, pero no me etiquetes ni etiquetes mi texto. Desde que nací, solo escuché alabanzas a la virtud. Hacer el bien y ser bueno. Sobre Jesús y su santo sacrificio. Escuché cómo los alemanes eran malvados Y cómo…
Devils at Work I am a foreigner to you and to this world. These are my personal observations. Read, but do not label me or my text. Since birth, I heard only praise for virtue. Doing Good and being good. About Jesus and his holy sacrifice. I heard how Germans were evil And how the…
The Art of Being a Lover Who said love is at ease? Love is a dis-ease, No comfort for a burning candle No ease for the swirling butterfly. Pure beauty yet ill-tempered That defines beauty and beyond, Longed to experience love through mankind. Yet taste and refraction kept the man blind Rather than seeing the…
Criminal at Large Past midnight in Graná,Moonlight flows, weightless and light,Hand in hand with a tireless breeze.Bearing the whisper of the sea,Waltzing to a summer melodyOf sweaty cicadas. But an explosion,Out of nowhere,Are we under attackBy imperial missilesUnable to handle No? No, the peace is intact, But a psychopath From the lineage of A self-claimed…