- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
the light and the dark
In the midst of life
We are…
We signed the divorce papers
And then out of the blue I was invited to two lovely events
And then a friend bared his soul on the stage and
Shared his pain and his demons and his struggles
And why he is who he is
And what made him who he is and
It made for extraordinary theatre
And the audience sat in his hard won radiance
The light and the dark
Forever intertwined
Holding hands into eternity
You can't have one
Without the other.
We are…
We signed the divorce papers
And then out of the blue I was invited to two lovely events
And then a friend bared his soul on the stage and
Shared his pain and his demons and his struggles
And why he is who he is
And what made him who he is and
It made for extraordinary theatre
And the audience sat in his hard won radiance
The light and the dark
Forever intertwined
Holding hands into eternity
You can't have one
Without the other.
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
Everything Changes
I had a memory
Of working in the student office at UNSW
Back when we were still in the Blockhouse
And the computers were so old
We had to assign someone to come in an hour before everyone else
To turn them on
And Sophie and I were swirling around on the office chairs
Recreating a video clip of some pop song
From when YouTube was just starting
And tonight I got to see Waitress filmed live on Broadway
And Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson did a talkback
And I thought about how everything changes
I haven’t had a baby
But I’ve lived a life these past 15 years
Kris and Aaron and London and FoCo and
Stupid forking cancer
And NJ and SP work and el camino (twice) and
Voltaire and our garden
And moving and separating and living in Astoria
In the words of Sara:
Oh my heart's at the wheel now
And all my mistakes
They make sense when I turn them around
Everything changes
What I thought was so permanent fades
In the blink of an eye, there's a new life in front in my face
And I know in due time, every right thing will find its right place
So I swear I'll remember to say
We were both born today
'Cause everything changed
Everything changes
Of working in the student office at UNSW
Back when we were still in the Blockhouse
And the computers were so old
We had to assign someone to come in an hour before everyone else
To turn them on
And Sophie and I were swirling around on the office chairs
Recreating a video clip of some pop song
From when YouTube was just starting
And tonight I got to see Waitress filmed live on Broadway
And Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson did a talkback
And I thought about how everything changes
I haven’t had a baby
But I’ve lived a life these past 15 years
Kris and Aaron and London and FoCo and
Stupid forking cancer
And NJ and SP work and el camino (twice) and
Voltaire and our garden
And moving and separating and living in Astoria
In the words of Sara:
Oh my heart's at the wheel now
And all my mistakes
They make sense when I turn them around
Everything changes
What I thought was so permanent fades
In the blink of an eye, there's a new life in front in my face
And I know in due time, every right thing will find its right place
So I swear I'll remember to say
We were both born today
'Cause everything changed
Everything changes
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
pride
Watching the parade
Wend its way
Through Jackson Heights
All these people
From every walk of life
From every corner of the globe
From young to old and in between
From bankers to students to dancers to drummers
Librarians and social workers and lawyers
And every other profession in between
All the colors of the rainbow
Proudly walking and singing and dancing
Down the street
Love is love is love is love!
Wend its way
Through Jackson Heights
All these people
From every walk of life
From every corner of the globe
From young to old and in between
From bankers to students to dancers to drummers
Librarians and social workers and lawyers
And every other profession in between
All the colors of the rainbow
Proudly walking and singing and dancing
Down the street
Love is love is love is love!
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
The Start of Something New
I’m excited and sad
(To paraphrase Stephen Sondheim)
Moving back to New York
Finding a lovely sublet
Walking distance to the park and pool
Walking distance to the subway
Musical theatre flatmates
Twenty minutes into Manhattan
Everyone says the food is amazing
Coffee shops galore
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry
Here we go.
(To paraphrase Stephen Sondheim)
Moving back to New York
Finding a lovely sublet
Walking distance to the park and pool
Walking distance to the subway
Musical theatre flatmates
Twenty minutes into Manhattan
Everyone says the food is amazing
Coffee shops galore
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry
Here we go.
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
The Concert
You’re in a tiny basement
In the depths of downtown Manhattan
Any further south and you’d be in the water
(Or on the bridge)
And a musician is playing
Bass clarinet and
Using a loop pedal
And the sound he creates
Is extraordinary
You didn’t know a bass clarinet
Could be rhythmic
Or sound almost like a didgeridoo
The music is meditative
Evocative of something far away and
Unknown yet strangely familiar
The musician’s little daughter sits in the front row
Enthralled
And then your friend from Sydney gets up to play
A flute solo
You met in another lifetime
After Kris, before Aaron
And while you’re watching her
Play her virtuosic compositions
Inspired by the sounds of space
(Cosmic vibrations - F Major, the rings of Saturn - C Major)
And the stories of refugees
And the insights from meditation
It occurs to you that this is a full-circle moment
By some strange happenstance
You’re reconnecting
After Aaron
(Something you never thought you’d say)
And her music touches your soul and
Reminds you of another time
When you played flute everyday
And passed your 8th grade AMEB exam
The person who was so excited to move to London
“Five years in London
Five years in New York
And then we’ll see what happens”
Here I am
Twelve years later
A new chapter begins.
In the depths of downtown Manhattan
Any further south and you’d be in the water
(Or on the bridge)
And a musician is playing
Bass clarinet and
Using a loop pedal
And the sound he creates
Is extraordinary
You didn’t know a bass clarinet
Could be rhythmic
Or sound almost like a didgeridoo
The music is meditative
Evocative of something far away and
Unknown yet strangely familiar
The musician’s little daughter sits in the front row
Enthralled
And then your friend from Sydney gets up to play
A flute solo
You met in another lifetime
After Kris, before Aaron
And while you’re watching her
Play her virtuosic compositions
Inspired by the sounds of space
(Cosmic vibrations - F Major, the rings of Saturn - C Major)
And the stories of refugees
And the insights from meditation
It occurs to you that this is a full-circle moment
By some strange happenstance
You’re reconnecting
After Aaron
(Something you never thought you’d say)
And her music touches your soul and
Reminds you of another time
When you played flute everyday
And passed your 8th grade AMEB exam
The person who was so excited to move to London
“Five years in London
Five years in New York
And then we’ll see what happens”
Here I am
Twelve years later
A new chapter begins.
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
cheesecake
The thrill
Of being able to sneak
An entire cheesecake
Into the fridge
And surprise him
On his birthday.
Of being able to sneak
An entire cheesecake
Into the fridge
And surprise him
On his birthday.
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
At Home
A whole day at home?
With no where to go?
Not even grocery shopping?
The satisfaction of dishes washed
Clothes folded
To do lists shrunk
Even though you had to yell at the health insurance
(Oh my god the broken infuriating utterly ridiculous incomprehensible health care system that makes you feel deep rage and desire to rip your hair out and just give up at the incompetent inhumane bullshit of it all)
At least you got to yell together
And remember that you have each other
Even when it’s hard
Even when it seems the whole world is conspiring against your happiness and well-being
You are here.
With no where to go?
Not even grocery shopping?
The satisfaction of dishes washed
Clothes folded
To do lists shrunk
Even though you had to yell at the health insurance
(Oh my god the broken infuriating utterly ridiculous incomprehensible health care system that makes you feel deep rage and desire to rip your hair out and just give up at the incompetent inhumane bullshit of it all)
At least you got to yell together
And remember that you have each other
Even when it’s hard
Even when it seems the whole world is conspiring against your happiness and well-being
You are here.
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
The Game of Life
Aaron was working on a presentation for school
The pedagogy of luck
At 3am I had an epiphany
It should be like The Game of Life!
So I made a graphic
And it was a little tricky
But I figured it out
It was nice to be able to help
To feel a part
Because often our worlds
Seem very far apart
But here we are
The actor and the philosopher
Playing the game
Together
The pedagogy of luck
At 3am I had an epiphany
It should be like The Game of Life!
So I made a graphic
And it was a little tricky
But I figured it out
It was nice to be able to help
To feel a part
Because often our worlds
Seem very far apart
But here we are
The actor and the philosopher
Playing the game
Together
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
The End of the Week
A cold and rainy Friday afternoon
Is perfect for
Hot chocolate
And time with your love.
Is perfect for
Hot chocolate
And time with your love.
- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
My Funny Valentine
Marriage isn’t always
Sunshine and roses
Sometimes its
And talking about the dog’s poop
And folding laundry
And trying to figure out what’s for dinner
And when will you be home
And when do you have time to get groceries
And we have another bill
And did you feed the dog yet
And all the everyday-ness
That requires
Figuring it out
And re-negotiating and
Showing up
Even when it’s hard
Even when it’s exhausting
Even when you wonder what might’ve been
Sondheim got it right with
Sorry/Grateful
And then one Valentine’s Day
You cook up some fish in the air fryer
And light a beeswax candle
And sit across the table from each other
“This would’ve been fifty bucks in a restaurant!”
And the puppy is gnawing on his chew
And you look at each other
And smile.
Sunshine and roses
Sometimes its
And talking about the dog’s poop
And folding laundry
And trying to figure out what’s for dinner
And when will you be home
And when do you have time to get groceries
And we have another bill
And did you feed the dog yet
And all the everyday-ness
That requires
Figuring it out
And re-negotiating and
Showing up
Even when it’s hard
Even when it’s exhausting
Even when you wonder what might’ve been
Sondheim got it right with
Sorry/Grateful
And then one Valentine’s Day
You cook up some fish in the air fryer
And light a beeswax candle
And sit across the table from each other
“This would’ve been fifty bucks in a restaurant!”
And the puppy is gnawing on his chew
And you look at each other
And smile.