Unity in Diversity

I’ll be exploring this theme more in poetry and image.

Children’s Book Week Event

Australia: Story Country!

Saturday – 20 August 2016, between 10:00am and 1:00pm

Join the Queensland Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, local children’s authors and illustrators, and members of the Brisbane Illustrators Group and Write Links at the State Library of Queensland for a series of specially curated activities for children, young people and their families to celebrate the beginning of 2016 Book Week.

In the Knowledge Walk, help us create characters and images for two stories written especially for the occasion by Queensland writers. Children will learn about character development and elements of story creation, as well as learning and practising sketching, drawing, colouring, and painting.

Join in the fun with storytelling sessions by local picture book authors and illustrators who will be discussing the stories behind the stories, teaching children about how books are developed and put together.

There will be illustrators from the storytelling sessions demonstrating their skills using both traditional and digital methods. Watch them demonstrate how they developed their characters from the stories that will share in the storytelling sessions. Children will learn about the illustration process; the tools and techniques illustrators use; and the process of book creation.

The BIG draw is proudly presented by the Queensland Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, in partnership with the State Library of Queensland and Book Links (QLD) Inc.

(Magic Fish Dreaming presenting at this)

Big Draw

Poetry Journal

Today I am beginning to keep a poetry journal again.

It’s a way to unpack the day and approach things with creativity and imagination -a sheltered place for daily writing exercises and ideas.

Today’s topics Pokemon Go and Ladders of Music.

Also I’m aiming to read a new poet a day.

The pictured journal was made by my daughter for Mother’s Day.

I want to hand write as well as type some of my poetry journal.

I wrote this for my facebook status statement today. I think it needs to go in my poetry journal as something to keep reflecting on.

“Music – a ladder for the soul, a ladder to optimism, a ladder to a smile..”

Do you keep a poetry journal?

Words to Music – Lamp Lighters

Stories Break

A loving couple separated
and no compassion forthcoming.
What will happen to their future?
His flowers never reach her.
Is detention all there is?

Indigenous children tortured
gassed and tied
not given hope or rehabilitation,
The past seems full of lies.

So much ‘invisible’
by choice or design?
until the stories break;

and the stories break
my heart
the stories break
my day
the stories make me
want to say:

time to be a lamp lighter
lamp lighter of justice
lamp lighter of love
lamp lighter of unity.

(c) June Perkins

I Choose Love

Dedicated to all those
who visited my facebook wall this week

I choose love, not hate;
I hear Martin Luther King knocking at the door.

I choose poetry, deny so called fate
I hear so many poets as they roar.

Maya Angelou says, ‘be the rainbow
in someone else’s cloud.’

I am a rainbow and I forgive, but still call
for injustice to be ploughed.

Mahatma Ghandi shows people how to resist
with non violence, so I wage peace not war;
I don’t wait for it to come knocking at the door.

I read ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Paris Talks
and picture when he brings Louis Gregory to the table
and makes acceptance more than a fable.

Actions always speak louder than words
but words have power
that can be absurd
or turn humanity into
a soaring bird.

I choose for my children
more than debate.

May they educate
illuminate, radiate then eradicate
prejudice forevermore.

I dream we’ll walk through unity’s gate.

June Perkins

familypicbest5 — My family in the seventies

I spent this week having discussions in my facebook space about racism and prejudice and what we can do about it.

It began with this:

After watching Q&A this week I am utterly convinced that Australia as a nation has to actively once and for all truly confront and end ignorance, fear and racism against multiple cultures, its Indigenous peoples, and ‘non-Christian’ religions, with love, friendship, community building and education.

We are truly a multicultural nation, a multi-faith nation and it is something to support not pull down as the cause of terrorism. I choose not pickets and placards, or reacting to haters, but instead the courage of intelligent everyday conversations,friendships, educating my children to love all peoples, to unify all peoples and the power of poetry. I choose love.

About 100 reactions, (75 likes and 32 comments)

The Young Me – It wasn’t always easy growing up in Australia but this is a happy memory – hands covered in sand! This was taken by Edward Broomhall.

Another day, another media commentary and now Waleed Aly and the Project say ‪#‎sendforgivenessviral‬ and start ‘construction’ not ‘destruction’ We need love and justice too and people showing true friendship.‪#‎ichooselove‬

We need to think about what fuels fear – things like ignorance, envy, systematic social injustice, inequity, a focus too much on differences and not enough on that which unifies us all. Forgiveness might be a first step for some but we have to go further to get to the ‘construct’ moments.https://www.facebook.com/TheProjectTV/videos/10153760912218441/

7 reactions

Just had a lovely prayer session with Nancy. Renewed strength for the week ahead. Thought of all our friends with illness, tests of various kinds, and of course just the world in general after all the unrest.

4 reactions

I decided to pose these two questions:

What fuels ‘fear’? What enhances ‘connection’ and ‘unity’? (for anyone who would like to discuss this)

16 reactions: seven thoughtful responses some likes

My response to what people posted on my wall:

There are many things that fuel fear as people have said, and there are many good points here. They point in many ways to the things we can do to overcome it. Arm ourselves with knowledge, broaden our experience so one experience is not all we base a decision on, keep working on our own development as human beings, change what we can in our lives and be detached about what we can’t change.

I love the suggestions here about how to build unity – work on something positive with others, make sure our information sources are trustworthy, find the points of connection, have some common goals, broaden and deepen our knowledge maybe about cultures, religion, experiences others have to go through, develop sympathy – wow so much of it is based around the development of ‘virtues’ and of course I would add LOVE others, love and don’t fear, the diversity, the challenge, the connection, the differences.

We need to be having conversations about to how to support women in Australia and the world and how to create true equality. Perhaps many of the same things apply to this as apply to dealing with prejudices and racism. But no one challenge is more important than the other, and sometimes the cause of the problems might even be the same. Imagine too, where you experience multiple prejudices, racism, sexism and Class (poverty) and think about how all of that might compound. we should be having conversations about to how to support women in Australia and the world and how to create true equality.

Perhaps many of the same things apply to this as apply to dealing with prejudices and racism. But no one challenge is more important than the other, and sometimes the cause of the problems might even be the same. Imagine too, where you experience multiple prejudices, racism, sexism and Class (poverty) and think about how all of that might compound.

18 likes to the above quote and 2 shares.

My final response:

A very big thank you to everyone who has been contributing to the discussions here, for your compassion, sensitivity and intelligence. You all give me hope, especially those of you who have welcomed into your families and neighbourhoods, diversity and who are patient, kind, forgiving, but also want to see real change. Keep the discussions going with those around you for the sake of our future generations and let’s all think about concrete everyday actions to make our world a better place.

25 reactions so far

(Sharing the link, and reblogs of this post are encouraged, spread the dream, spread the love, but please keep my name at the author on the poem please and thanks so much to everyone sharing this and discussing it).

Calls for submissions for the New Shoots Poetry Prizes

Rochford Street Review

Calls for submissions for the New Shoots Poetry Prize 2016 and the New Shoots Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney Poetry Prize 2016

We want your plant inspired poetry!

The Red Room Company, Rochford Street Review and Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney call for submissions for the New Shoots Poetry Prize 2016 and the New Shoots Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney Poetry Prize 2016. All poems must be previously unpublished, no more than 100 lines in length or 3-5 minutes of audio or video media and on the theme of plants. Poems to be considered for the New Shoots Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney Poetry Prize 2016 must relate specifically to plants in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Submissions to either prize must include the full name of the poetry prize in the subject line of the email or in capitals on the top of the cover letter, if applying by post. All submissions must…

View original post 885 more words

Tall Trees

When in the presence of tall trees
I always look up
and see how Jack was
tempted into
the land of giants.

Some seem tricky but doable
with their overhangs and grooves but
it’s the straight ones
with no footholds that
leave me wondering.

By June Perkins

Sunburst

Sunburst through green
patterns like seventies wall paper
sing of Sounds of Silence –

in nature’s calls
things unseen,

the inner story of
glow worms and lyrebirds.

By June Perkins

Thank You Dear Backers All

Magic Fish Dreaming

‘Thank you dear backers all’
sing the Magic Fish Dreaming Team.
‘We hold you in high esteem
For believing in our book dream.
We plan to do you proud
And thank you beautiful crowd
for answering our kickstarter call.
Bless you – one and all.’

Honour Blog Roll

Yvonne Mes

Dimity Powell

Tahirih Twyford

Anil Tortop

Amanda Francey

Renee Hills

Nancy Kent

Karen Tyrrell

Jacqui Halpin

Rocher

Alison Stegert