The Bluebird

The Bluebird © Australian Ballet’s “The Sleeping Beauty” 2015 (from Facebook page) Photo: Kate Longley

The Australian Ballet

Page Liked · September 20 ·

“The magic of the Bluebird … The Bluebird Pas de deux is one of the definitive moments of The Sleeping Beauty – there can be no Beauty without Bluebirds! Principal Artists Ako Kondo and Chengwu Guo dance this sensational pas de deux in The Sleeping Beauty!” Photography Kate Longley

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  Sue Forde Coughlan Always a favourite: of many favourites… may I share my ballet poem? The Prima Ballerina

  She lives in a world of fairy tales,
  all fantasy, happiness and woe.

  Floating across the stage in tulle,
  fine silk or organza.,

  softly pirouettes through the mist,
  or dies upon the snow.

  This is the world of Ballet
  of the Prima Ballerina.

  So lithe and slim, so beautiful,
  so graceful and serene.

  On stage, supremely untouchable
  yet so frail behind the scenes.

  She’s the Queen of the ‘Corps de Ballet’,
  the star with the golden feet,

  dancing her way through ‘Petruska’,
  ‘Swan Lake’ or the ‘Nutcracker Suite’.

  The audience, transfixed with awe,
  watch silently, as in a dream,

  for gripped by suspense and beauty
  – such as they’ve never seen!

  They observe the scenery so real,
  the superbly made costumes,

  but their eyes are fixed on the ‘Bluebird’
  and all it’s fine blue plumes.

  And when the ballet is done,
  And encore after encore taken.

  And baskets and bouquets
  of flowers dispensed….

  There’s a feeling of despair and longing
  at the end of such unforgettable enchantment.

  Frances Macaulay Forde © 1968

  Like · Reply · 7 · September 20 at 10:30am

#FrancesMForde  #FrancesMacForde  #AustralianBallet   #AB:SleepingBeauty   #TheBluebird  #Ballet  #Beauty  #POEM:ThePrimaBallerina

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Husbands, Divorce, 30 Years on…

@FrancesMForde  #FrancesMacForde  #PoetryPostcards  #Poetry  #Postcards  #Love   #Romance  #Flowers

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London Court Cafe

what are you thinking

where are you looking

not at me

why?

 

the times

insecure

scared

private

secrets held

hands grasp bags

pats wallet

life blood exists

reassurance

 

woman in track-pants

yakka green

hunt food

nylon jackets

eat and walk

forget manners

quickly – no time

lighter

hidden puffs

blurred singing

sadness

plastic rustles

stumble

life wins the battle

shame bottle

 

executive black

cash freedom

uniform success

yellow jewelry

sustained work

blood money

 

comfortable shoes

mushy cardies

link arms

coats in sunshine

meander

disregard fashion

first eye contact

traditional warmth

traveling through life

together

relaxed touch

 

look into my eyes

I exist

I breathe

friendship

I’m secure

the day is shining

I give

look at me

I’m whole

I’m here

where are you going?

 

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2000 

* Published in ‘Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey’ Ireland 2003.

 

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“One Hour Seeds Another”

This photo was taken on the 16th August 2008 when Andrew Burke  kindly stepped in to host “Poetic Partners” at the  my second to last Poets Corner@Pages Cafe  monthly events.

He put together a mind-blowing-ly amazing list of guests; all very well established practitioners who agreed to share their words as poetic partners in life, love and poetry:

Glen Phillips & Rita Tognini;

Andrew Taylor & Beate Josephi;

Frances Arnett Sbrocchi  & N.J (Jim) Cornish;

Marcella Polain & Mike Williams.

Each have their own clear, poetic voices were an absolute delight to hear and watch.  I just wish I had recorded it for you…

As usual, Andrew Burke did an amazing job as host but also appeared as a guest at the following and last Poets Corner event on the 18th October 2008, this time hosted by Andrew Landsdowne.

His newest book “One Hour Seeds Another” was officially launched in fine style last week to an appreciative Perth audience,  by his friend and fellow poet, Andy Jackson.

I had to pinch this quote: “too much cinnamon/and not enough/metaphor” from  Andrew Burke and his poem “She Waits for Me” included in his latest book “One Hour Seeds Another”.

 

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #AndrewBurke  #PoetsCorner@PagesCafe    #AndyJackson  #GlenPhillips  #RitaTognini  #AndrewTaylor  #BeateJosephi  #FrancesArnettSbrocchi  #JimCornish  #MarcellaPolain  #MikeWilliams  #BOOK:OneHourSeedsAnother  #RochfordStReview  #Books  #Poetry #PoetryReadings  #PoetryEvents  #PoetsCorner  #PagesCafe

 

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Bar of Grief

Upturned bottles once lined with military order

on dusty, termite-rotten shelves. Fingerprints,

clear spaces of use, caught by the shafts of daylight

through pin-holes where nails have been.

 

A puddle of spilt pain, beneath an upturned bench.

Life, wasted in boozy stench lies forgotten,

punished for excess, while determined creatures

march with hunger towards rotten snacks.

Dirt’s secret world survives in semi-darkness.

 

Corrugated walls, rusting-red and brown. Drips

where rain had been, left tracks as if guiding

to the next place. A dark, dank, mud-bed

suitable for long soft round things

to slither and slide through eyes now closed.

Still focused on nightmare dreams, gone before.

 

Frances Macaulay Forde © 1998

 

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #POEMBarOfGrief  #BOOKHiddenCapacity  #eBOOKReturnOfRainbows

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Poetry Postcard: I need you…

 

I started doing poetry postcards when I ran Poets Corner @ Pages Cafe as a giveaway on each table.  I figured if people were kind enough to sit and listen, they deserved a keepsake.

I’m still in the habit and find them useful as giveaways at readings and book events.   I get them printed – often for free, when VISTA PRINT  do ‘specials’.

This one has the first (the very first) oil painting I ever did, on it.  My dad gave me a set of oils for my 12th birthday and a small tester board.

I haven’t done more than a handful since but this first attempt at oils, was always my favorite.

The poem was written for my returned love; every time he turns to carry on with his everyday… I miss him this much.

 

#FrancesMacaulayForde   #PoetsCorner@PagesCafe  #POEM:INeedYou  #ExploringPossibilities

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‘My Car’ video

 

Do you ego-search on the net?  You should.  It’s amazing what you find.

Just put your name like this: “Sarah Smith” into Google search and check where your name appears on the World Wide Web.

I’ve just discovered this reading of ‘My Car’ from ‘Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey’ done some time ago which I had completely forgotten about.

I also discovered that Poemhunter.com seems to be doing really well out of the 52 poems I uploaded there years ago.

My poems seem to get a reasonable number of visitors and the site haven’t missed a trick in using them without formal permission.

Although perhaps their Terms & Conditions when I uploaded them originally, covered that – and who reads them properly?

Without my consent, there’s an e-book of the poems available for free.

Now that I’m selling my own e-books, it sort of clashes and makes me wonder if I should leave the poems on there for the publicity or take them down.

I decided to add the link to my KINDLE books on each page instead and hope it brings some sales.

Also each has been converted to a (questionable) ‘video’ some with automated voices reading the poems.  Here’s their version of my ‘All Stops’.

Amazing what you find…

 

#francesmacaulayforde  #VideoPoems   #VideoReadings

 

P.S. I’ve just realized I started the month with this poem…

 

 

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The Return of Rainbows.

Still on the KINDLE kick, my latest upload (probably not available yet as still being processed) is another Poetry Chapbook ~ the third.

(I’ve just added two examples of poems from my ‘Love’  KINDLE uploaded over the weekend,  just like I did for my ‘Rail Tales’ blog post.)

‘The Return of Rainbows’ was also conceived at University as a mature-age student bloodied by life’s battles and as always, finding succor in words.

My seemingly audacious presence provided lots of  fodder to explore the constant challenges and effects of that experience on my life.

 

The Return of Rainbows

Driving down Alexander,

(early morning rush hour)

lecture on documentary film.

Eager for knowledge, I noted

low, broad bands of colour

spanning the sky above Uni.

Ignoring the grey clouds,

I welcomed the return

of rainbows to my life.

 

Instinct

There’s no place for love

at this time in my life.

I envy those who achieve

the balance of need.

 

Opportunities ignored

in the interest of safe-ness,

flying toward my ability’s

determined focus.

 

Children gone in their own

living-dreams direction,

lessons learnt and heeded.

My job’s complete.

 

Is this my way of avoiding

the ‘empty nest’  syndrome?

Gath’ring materials for comfort

as I settle into old age?

…

 

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2003

(I’m about to upload some short stories next.)

#ReturnOfRainbows #FrancesMacaulayForde #McAlpineBellPublishing

 

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My first KINDLE!

KINDLE edition #francesmacaulayforde

 

Well, that’s it – I’ve just published my first KINDLE book on Amazon of a previously printed  “Rail Tales ~ notes from the Currumbine Line”  and naturally, had to buy the first copy.

“Poetry and stories written while travelling on the Currumbine Line between the City of Perth and the Northern Suburbs in Western Australia.”    

It’s live and available right now so I’m pretty pleased.  (It certainly wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be but I managed.)

Here’s another of my favorite short poems from the book:

 

Rail Trail

parallel bars ride the sand

silver bullet steered by hand

expressed in kilometre-d speed

human flotsam to concrete greed

 

 

…and a (very, very) short story I hope you’ll smile at, remembering I was riding the rails when I wrote it.

 

The Great Escape.

Head back, eyes closed. I savor the cool, quiet efficiency of train travel.

I’m alone on this journey.  It is obviously not a popular time to commute.

Silence.  Then a scuffle, a soft knock below me and to the left, makes me

open my eyes. There it is again.  Are there mice on this train?  

It sounds like old crackle-y paper. Rounded, moving haphazardly

in all directions.

I hope the security video can’t see me climb onto the seat. 

Where is it? More importantly – what is it?

Feeling foolish, I gingerly step down. Then cautiously kneel and bend over,

eyes level to the carpet, bum up. 

Oh, it’s O.K. Panic over. Breathe again.

It’s only an onion, enjoying the freedom of riding on the train. 

Do you think it’s got a ticket?

 

 Frances Macaulay Forde © 2003

#BOOKRailTales   #FrancesMacaulayForde

#McAlpineBellPublishing

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Supper Club Videos

A couple of weeks ago in my blog posting ‘SOME FOLKS FOLK’  I mentioned the Monday Supper Club with special guest poets Glen Phillips and John Ryan.

My musician Hubby agreed to go because the amazing Ken Nicol, once the guitarist in Steeleye Span, was also appearing…

I previously included a photo or two but now can share my short videos taken that night, so click onto the screenshots and the links will take you to the YouTube performances.

Although I must apologize for my spur-of-the-moment video skills, I hope you enjoy the local glimpses anyway!  It’s all about spreading the love 🙂

‘Dryandra Dreaming’ #GlenPhillips #FrancesMacaulayForde

‘Ice Maiden’ #GlenPhillips #FrancesMacaulayForde

‘Mid Stride’ #GlenPhillips #FrancesMacaulayForde

“Wine” #JohnRyan #FrancesMacaulayForde

“My Kentucky Country Roads” #JohnRyan #FrancesMacaulayForde

“Inside a Jarrah Tree” #JohnRyan #FrancesMacaulayForde

‘Stratford’ #KenNicol #FrancesMacaulayForde

“Initial Variations” Instrumental #KenNicol #FrancesMacaulayForde

#FrancesMacaulayForde   #GlenPhillips     #JohnRyan   #KenNicol  #MondaySupperClub  #SteeleyeSpan

 

 

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