Poetry

Resistence in times like this by Colleen Keating

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Resistence

In times like this

JOY is an act of resistance     Loryn Brantz

Love, Faith, Education, Community  are also acts of resistance. 

“Have you ever noticed how certain words instantly  make you feel lighter, happier  or more inspired? 
And then there are words that drag you down, leave you heavy or even sabotage your energy .
So here’s the thing  . . . the words you speak (and even the ones you think) are shaping your reality every single day.” Sandy Forster

For many years  we had a poster up on the kitchen wall, that we read often reminding ourselves and our children the maxim.

Keep your thoughts positive
because your thoughts become your words.

Keep your words positive
because your words become your actions . 

 

Now today with so much negative actions bombarding our screens and  social media
 there is a further element needed and that is to positively RESIST .

In the blog Wildly Wealthy Women , Sandy Forster takes that further . She writes:

” Every word carries its own energitic signature.

Words like freedom , gratitude, joy  and abundance  feel expansive, light, and full of possibility.

When you soak your mind and energy field in words like these, you begin to broadcast to the Universe,

and most importantly to yourself, the kind of reality you want to create.  

And here is the magic part . . .  even a single word repeated intentionally, mindfully and repeated

with genuine feeling can shift your state in the moment . “

Exercise.

Pause

Close your eyes and say to yourself your chosen word .

Repeat it for about  17 seconds

Feel the word in your body .

Stay with it for a minute or so

Sense your vibration rising. . 

Practice this often. 

(Adapted from Essay by Sandy Foster.

www. WildWealthy.com)

Sandy very generously gives us the  list created with brain storming  on the alphabet,

No excuses there is a postive word for every day and every lettr of the alphabet..

Choose a few words from the list. make them your own and use the Exercise with them often.

 A–Z Manifestation Mantras

High vibration words to shift your energy so you can magnetize your dreams

A – Abundance, Alignment, Attraction, Appreciation 

B – Bliss, Brilliance, Balance, Boldness

C – Clarity, Confidence, Creativity, Courage

D – Delight, Divine, Destiny, Determination

E – Expansion, enlighten, Energy, Empowerment

 F – Freedom, Flow, Faith, Fulfilment

G – Gratitude, Growth, Grace, Generosity

H – Happiness, Harmony, Healing, Hope

I – Inspiration, Intuition, Imagination, Infinite 

J – Joy, Journey, Jubilation, Juicy

K – Kindness, Keen, Karma, Knowing,

L – Love, Light, Laughter, Limitless

M – Manifestation, Miracles, Magic, Momentum 

N – Nurture, Now, Nourishment, Newness

O – Oneness, Opportunity, Overflow, Opulence

 P – Prosperity, Peace, Power, Passion Pause

Q – Quantum, Quest, Quickening, Quality

R – Radiance, Riches, Resilience, Receptivity Rest

 S – Success, Serenity, Sacred, Synchronicity 

T – Transformation, Trust, Triumph, Thriving 

U – Universe, Unlimited, Unity, Unstoppable 

V – Vision, Vitality, Victory, Vibration

W – Wealth, Wonder, Worthiness, Wisdom

X – Xtraordinary, Xciting, Xuberant

Y – Yes, Youthful, Yearning, Yeilding

Z – Zest, Zeal,

Your word is your wand and you have the power to create magic in your life, one word at a time!

  www.WildlyWealthy.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ink Centenary Edition 2025 Society of Women Writers Inc by Colleen Keating

colleen Poetry, Poetry Awards , , , , ,

I am very honoured to have two poems in the INK Centenary Edition . It is the 4th Edition.  

And is a collection  of the winning poetry, non-fiction and short stories – entries in the SWW

writing competitions 2021 – 2024.

Thank you to the editor,  Susan Steggall  and congratulations to all the entries .

Great to be amongst  such wonderful names. 

The two poems of mine that are honoured in the SWW Poetry competition 

Petal by petal                        short listed  2022

From the dust of stars       short listed 2024

It has been a decade hiatus since the 3rd edition  of INK was published for  the 90th SWW 

INK 3  90th Anniversary Edition   a collection of the winning entries in SWW 2015 -2016 and am proud to say I had my poem,

In Search of Hildegard of Bingen included. ( The incentive for my book that followed )

The past two editions of INK 2015 and 2025   collections of the winning poetry, non-fiction, and short stories  in the SWW Writing Copetitions.

 

      

Feast Day for Hildegard of Bingen and our spring garden

colleen Poetry

TODAY

17th September:  Hildegard of Bingen’s feast day

Today I like she reminds us:

“There is the music of Heaven in all things.”

~ Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a 12th century German abbess, visionary,
prophet, herbalist, and composer who defied the challenges of her time
with her deep connection to the wild and sacred natural world.

Hildegard regularly ate out of her garden and experienced it as both communion and sacrament.
Here are a couple of my favorite recipes that I create often with my common garden sage,
which was a favorite of Hildegard’s as well! I have a hunch that perhaps it was the garden sage
that provided Hildegard with some of her visions and esoteric understandings.

Adapted from  an on line retreat centre Waymarkers Seattle, Wa

Try this herbal tea at home;
savor how the flavor gives you
a taste for your place and a profound sense
of the Sacred’s particular presence.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 sage leaves harvested with gratitude from an organic plant
  • Water
  • Lemon
  • Honey—the more local the better!

Instructions

  • As you gather your 4-5 sage leaves, thank the Creator for the gift of this herb, and offer gratitude to the plant and surrounding nurturing environment.
  • Place the sage leaves into your teapot or makeshift tea bag of choice.
  • Pour a cup of boiling water over the leaves and then steep for five minutes.
  • To serve, pour into a teacup, using a fine mesh strainer as needed.
  • Tea may be enhanced with a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of honey.

 

Our Garden

Go out into your garden and be healed. It is a blessing to be graced by a garden. Even if it is a tiny pocket, even if it is one tree like the power of the single tree in “A Tree grows in Brooklyn”

 These past few days I have been stepping out in our garden and am just amazed at the colour, the scent and sheer grace of  the beauty at every turn.  It is like an artist has been excessing with the paint brush, with brighter hues of colour,  from the grand eucalypts down to the minute painted dots inside the azalea flower.  Below some moments in our garden in this spring. 

 

       

 

 

 

         

 

 

Poem for the 17th September 1179

From Hildegard of Bingen:A poetic journey

A Circle Ends Where it Begins    

Night sounds.  Bird chatter calms
as they settle to roost. Frogs and crickets 
interrupted by the near-by cry of an owl.

Whispers call Hildegard.
The bee lured to the open armed flower.

A moon tucks nto her room, 
plays warm shadows 
on the faces gathered around her.
Hildegard sees a celestial choir
singing the Mass and office
with Guibert as their Priest.

The scent of roses fills the air.
She remembers the smell 
of Richardis’ perfumed hands
bringing her a flush of roses 
that initial year at Rupertsberg.  

In her dreams she sees a loving Jutta 
calling her to instruct Richardis 
on gathering plants for balms.
Remembers how they ran hand in hand 
into the forest 
curious about ferns, 
flowers, stones, seeds and berries.

She sees Volmar’s warm eyes.
Rides with him from Disibodenberg,
hears again his words, 
I could not let you go alone.

She sees a young girl
vigorous as a blossom in full bloom.
She runs in breathless,
Jutta,  O Jutta 
she calls, 
I see the light and beyond to the heavens.
I want to express myself so much.
I feel so blessed.

She watches the young girl pluck a feather 
from under her coarse homespun cape,

and look, a gift.
I know there are always feathers,
but this was special, as I watched it drift.
I felt a ‘Yes’ to life.
Ah, I am a feather on the breath of God.

Hildegard watches herself both hands in the air,
eyes to the heavens, turn and twirl a dance of light.

 

Our White Pebbles Spring Ginko Weekend

colleen Poetry

 

What a truly special two day with Pip Grffiin and Michael Keating. After we picked Pip up from Normanhurst we headed north for a wonderful day of beach and bush adventures.  We drove the scenic way through Shelley beach up to Crackneck Lookout where we took in the immense vista of ocean so vast,the horizon has a curved appearance. North we look up the beaches towards Norah Head and its lighthouse and beyond and south with a wide,wide ocean.

flouncing waves
the fragrance of wind 
in their wake

 Michael got the thermos out and we enjoyed a cuppa looking out at the amazing horizon line of blues and amidst the birds. My surprise was an outside devonshire tea with home-made scones, jam and fresh cream.

       

Refueled we set out on a bush walk to look for budding wildflowers and to search out the Flannel Flowers which we hoped were flowering. Grass trees and banksia were thriving , Wildflowers were still hesitating with the cold air and  persistent rain  holding them back.  We kept walking until we began to see the Flannel Flowers. Many were still only buds but some and enough for us to say’ wow’ , were flowering in all their glory. We enjoyed their velvety petals and ants and insects clambering on them,

     

 

solitary ant
angling across a petal
flannel flower

wayfaring
an ant ambles across
a flower petal

   

We slowly walked back and drove to Dolphin Court where we enjoyed the wonderful vista that we are so lucky to have access to. It was a sparkling day and the lake and mouth of the lake and then a wonderful performing ocean even with our resident seal lazing on a rock.

   

 

After we made a sandwich for lunch Pip and we  rested enjoying the view and wrote haiku,read poetry including Mary Oliver and then went for a beach walk.

It was 5 pm and the sun was heading west and so we decided to drive around to the lake to watch the sun drop into the Watigans. The setting sun was not as awesome in colour as sometimes but it did not disappoint, the egret arrived, the pelicans launged about some flosting on the lake, the black swans could be seen, the plovers could be heard.  Back home we had dinner and an early night

The next day we got up and came out to watch the dawn and the sun arrive . The cloud made it less spectacular but a dounbe whammy as it rose secondly over the thick cloud.  We wrote our haiku, feeling gratitude for our splendour vista and let the colours and sounds flow over us  

We drove to The White Pebbles Spring Haiku morning. After morning coffee we set out on our haiku walk, enjoying the Wisteria, azaelsa, bird song especially a cheeky willy wag tail, ducks and the apricity of the sun. Then we had a very affirming meeting all telling positive recent stories.Pip told of winning the the Mahler tickets and enjoying the concert of Mahler 4 and 5. Marilyn told of her 15 week holiday around Bowen and the North. Kent told how he and Deb went on a wonderful Whale Watching experience without seeing a whale. I told of my new book Ring the bells. And then we workshopped our haiku and enjoyed the learnings. We had a delicious lunch and a visit at the Art in the Gallery. and headed home dropping Pip at Hornsby. 

“Ginko” (吟行) in Japanese refers to a meditative walk
or poetic stroll, often undertaken by haiku poets to gather
inspiration and connect with nature.

WA Poets: Second Place in Ros Spencer Poetry Prize

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WA Poets Inc
Ros Spencer Poetry Prize
Dear Colleen,
Congratulations!
Last Way (Monument to Fallen Jewish People in Minsk, Belarus) was awarded second prize
in the Ros Spencer 2025 Poetry Prize by our judge Kevin Gillam.

Could you kindly forward your bank account details so we can transfer your prize money?

We will be in touch again with more details about the anthology and launch soon.

Best Wishes

Jaya Penelope

Administrator WA Poets

 

 

Ros Spencer Poetry Prize 2025 Second Place to Colleen Keating

colleen Poetry, Poetry Awards

 

 EXCITING NEWS

WINNER OF SECOND PLACE

 IN

THE ROS SPENCER POETRY COPETITION 2025

Colleen Keating       

 Second Place

  2025

 ROS SPENCER POETRY PRIZE 

 for

 ‘THE LAST WAY”

 

CONGRATULATIONS FURTHER FOR THE LONG LISTED POEM

Where her father walked

Both poems will be published in BRUSHSTROKES VI to  be launched in Novemeber 2025

I am very honoured and excited to be the runner up, winning  second prize in the Ros Spencer Poetry Competition 2025.

From over 600 poems to be named un the  long list then short listed and finally come out a winner is very affirming.

 It is also special to have two poems included in the latest  WA Poets  Brushstrokes VI 

BRUSHSTROKES VI

Thamk you to the contest judge, KEVIN GILLAM  and to the patron GEOFF SPENCER
It was an honour to hear him speak of his late wife Ros and read one of his poems.

The Last Way is a sestina I wrote early this year as an exercise
and in memory of a touching and powerful monumant
we visited in Minsk , Belaruse  on our Europian trip in 2017.

The monument has stayed with me these past 8 years and
wanting to write but always unsuccessfully until I tried the sestina .
Here the circuar rhythm and and repetition works well as the journey
is not a vertical journey but a internal struggle and experience  of facing death.

This is the only competition-ready sestina I have written .
Most poets regard it as a notoriously challenging form, with its six end words rotating
in a specific pattern throughout  the sestinia’s six sestets and final envoi tercet.

 

 

 

 

Late Winter Walk at Kur-ring-gai Wildflower garden

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Haibun

A break in the weather gives us the incentive to pack the thermos and head to Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden.
The earthy smell of rain beguiles. Trails of twinkling webs, gossamer fine, hang like garlands of stars.
The chickering of a creek and rustle underfoot play into the after-rain bird song.
 
First hints of spring are blossoms peeping from sepals ,like brave soldiers waiting to advance. 
Our walking becomes a ramble as we take time to enjoy their courage finding the odd wildflower setting the pace.

winter afternoon 
cootamundra wattle 
a show stopper

And then we become aware of signs of spring everywhere.
First buds of bacon and eggs, pink wax flower, white wedding bush
red mountain devil, wild purple iris, bravely waiting for the spring warmth
to break out from their undercover and take the bush by storm 

red grevillea  
curls its spidery spindles 
 daddy long-legs

Even though it is chilly and frosty, spring  will come.
Days are  slowly lengthening and little by little the ambiance  of the winter sun
turns  towards us in the south. with winter freeze giving way. On our return
lit dew still shimmers on every blade of grass.

on a high branch
the kookaburra chortles
spring

     

 

 

 

 

 

Ros Spencer Poetry Prize 2025 Long list Colleen Keating

colleen Poetry, Poetry Awards ,

Dear Colleen,

Congratulations! Your poems Last Way (Monument to Fallen Jewish People in Minsk, Belarus) & where her father walked have been longlisted by our judge Kevin Gillam for the 2025 Ros Spencer Poetry Prize. All longlisted poems will be included in the Brushstrokes Anthology (forthcoming later this year).

The shortlist will be revealed soon and the winners announced at WA Poets Presents on Thursday August 28th from 6-8pm at The City of Perth Library, as part of the 2025 Perth Poetry Festival. We’d love you to join us there for an uplifting evening of recognition, resonance, and readings from some of the state’s finest voices. 

Attendance at this event is free but you do need to register:

events.humanitix.com/ppf2025-awards

Best Wishes

Jaya Penelope

Contest Admininstrator 

_____________________________________________________________________-

PS I am excited  to be long listed but I am only showing one quarter  of the list  

so to move to the short list is a challenge.

But I am so excited to be twice on the list.   

Fingers crossed to move to the short list,

Great to know that my two poems will be in Brushstrokes lll 

 

 

 

 

Ring the Bells by Colleen Keating. Published by Ginninderra Press

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Finally it is here. To be published on the 20th August 2025. The countdown is on.

I will have copies to sell very soon. Send your address  to me via message or email. I will give you my  BSB

– $ 20 plus  postage and when Ring the Bells arrives  I will send it immediately.

Email me     taichi@bigpond.net.au

Writing this poetry over the past few years and compiling Ring the Bells has been my antidote to these times we live in 

and I hope it is an antidote for you too.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Ring the Bells is a collection of new poetry

with an invitation to hear each poem

as a bell chime embracing light, dark, life and love – cyclic like the seasons.

 

In Ring the Bells, award-winning poet Colleen Keating

invites readers to listen closely —

to the chimes of joy,

the tolls of grief,

and the quiet notes of love

that echo through our shared human experience.

 

Moving through four sections —

Embracing Light,

Embracing Dark,

Embracing Life,

and Embracing Love — her poems ring with an acute awareness

of the world’s beauty and its brokenness.

 

From intimate moments in nature

to the great sweep of history and current events,

Keating’s lyrical voice finds hope, tenderness, and resilience

in the spaces where light filters through the cracks.

the temple bell stops –
but the sound keeps coming 
out of the flowers

Basho (1644-94)
(trans by Robert Bly)

Piercingly beautiful. Each poem a chime 

 

                                            embracing light

 

                                                          embracing dark

 

                                                                                embracing life

 

                                                                                                      embracing love

 

from a poet with a vibrant and curious mind in love with life..

 

 

 

 

 

 

My heart is breaking: Gaza and Inhumanity

colleen Poetry , ,

 FOR GAZA

If I Must Starve

A poem by Nour Abel Latif
July 22, 2025

 

If i must starve,

let it be with dignity in my childrens’s eyes,

not with my hands tied by silence.

 

Let the world witness

that I do not bow to the hungar

but stood, even as the sky emptied

and the earth closed her mouth.

 

If I must starve,

let it be while i still cradle my child’s hope,

not as a number lost in footnotes.

 

Let the sea carry my name 

to shores that forgot my people,

and let the wind whisper:

she fed love when bread was gone.

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

 

30th July 2025

a silent weapon

we can never go back
it is too late
we are exposed
underbelly of humanity 
exposed again

the bare winter forest
fallen 
the ground too barren 
to bloom 
a spring

its glare blinds
some look away
some deny it 
the path is lost
for the seeing

she holds her dying child
her child   
our burden
our underbelly
exposed

air dropping palettes of leaves
rusty red to green 
It is too late
too weak for the gathering
she holds her dead child

Arteries of humanity are clogged
stents are denied
how do we grow it again 
tend it 
with inhumanity deep in us 

Colleen

GAZA CITY, GAZA – JULY 24: A charity organization distributed food to Palestinians facing severe difficulties accessing basic necessities due to Israel’s ongoing blockade and military operations in the Gaza Strip on July 24, 2025. Crowds gathered during the distribution in Gaza City, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis in the enclave. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)