The islands are crying

“The Pacific Islands are facing severe climate changes”

scientists warn that these changes threaten multiple aspects of life

that ecosystems and survival, are intertwined 

with responsibilities of local and international interests

where life in shiny cars is swept away by the encroaching seas

forgotten in computerized worlds beyond the grass huts and over the horizon

which are centered on the “great feeding life of the Pacific Ocean”

of which my tuna tataki melts in my mouth 

at my favourite restaurant, Daikoku

sizzling and delicate as fine as the silk of the ocean dipping into the land

of my soul where I feel the changes in the cries of the countries in the South Pacific.

I look at mother’s hands that worked the lines of her life as she turns the pancakes

on the griddle.

How did I not like seafood on my colourful favourite plate?

Maybe it was because I loathed the smells  

at the Suva Market. I still picture Mother and I stopping alongside the stalls

as she laughed with the vendors while I stood there quietly studying the tied-up crabs.

Lorraine Campbell

Drifting back home

Thoughts of “Bula” , “Namaste” and “Noaia”

coconut oil, coconut trees and cream

curry crab , lemon marinated fish,

laughter, grog, cheers of celebration,

coconut trees, sandy shores, smiles

ukelele, guitar strings

dreams

once were there

now a reality

of changes

stark misconceptions

twisted

dreams have struck

the islands of joy , once untouched

Daily struggles have enlarged

in the endless facades of life and

smiles.

Prepare your version of

reality in the untouched dream

of the isles.

Lorraine Campbell

Computerized time space

There are moments when I sink deep

into a silence

so deep I hear myself thinking

I see and visualize

what I feel and the real is here

the depth is almost a

recuperation of the madness

of daily living –

of a pause

necessary for a restart

in this overly planned

computerized

time space

borrowed

on loan

from my mind

Transforming into the collective view…

Our souls are floating

sometimes inhabiting us

while we live.

We are groomed in totality

brains wired

without connection

interconnected invisibly

in sync

with the greater outer controls

we have been occupied

with and without our consent

existing for years

we have already given up

many moons ago

Lorraine Campbell

May 19 2018

Computerized time space

There are moments when I sink deep

into a silence

so deep I hear myself thinking

I see and visualize

what I feel and the real is here

the depth is almost a

recuperation of the madness

of daily living –

of a pause

necessary for a restart

in this overly planned

computerized

time space

borrowed

on loan

from my mind

Transforming into the collective view…

Our souls are floating

sometimes inhabiting us

while we live.

We are groomed in totality

brains wired

without connection

interconnected invisibly

in sync

with the greater outer controls

we have been occupied

with and without our consent

existing for years

we have already given up

many moons ago

Lorraine Campbell

May 19 2018

Juxtaposition

I love the word juxtaposition.
It sounds a little like I'm trying to exert a bit of language mastery.

Like I feel I know something
but could always be pretending when I compare a cat and a dog
snoring side by side and dreaming of running.

You put your thinking cap on,
your crazy thoughts might capture a mind in curious motion
and maybe,just maybe make some sense.

Or flying in an airplane to the other side of the world
and all the while thinking of how you can get back and organize your life.

Uttering juxtaposition makes me feel 
like I can take more than one chance
while placing my attention on a different task.

Maybe you understand where I am,
I mean it is a world of eternal risks and possibilities and improbabilities but positivity in all.

Only a linguist or a philosopher could tell us about the risks in using language with a twist!
Languages exist,like water as old as the oceans of humanity and 
which you and I find in a common voice.

The oceans are rising! 
I fear the change in the world that engulfs us 
in tides of unpredictable times.

I float away, find myself on dry ground - juxtaposed 
I am in a field of flowers and sunshine kisses my face
and the beach beckons me.

In a grey moment, the tram screeches to a halt and capitalism shouts at the doors of the eternal lights on 
the roadside

Luring your thoughts and mine with a grin and shine

Lorraine Campbell

©️ Copyright Lorraine Campbell