1
My father said to remember your enemies as well as your friends, and don't trust either of them.Steven Herrick
2
I'm not sure if my dream is a dream, or a nightmare.Steven Herrick
3
He walks through the house of his past, hoping he'll find the right door, hoping he'll find the key.Steven Herrick
4
Our great adventure ran out of petrol and stopped on this farm.Steven Herrick
5
I’m alone with the ghost of the swamp, somewhere near the weeping willows.Steven Herrick
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And I'm thinking as our bodies meet that I'll remember this forever, and i just hope it's for all the right reasons.Steven Herrick
7
So, we skipped Annabel, and discussed condoms. I said I liked the orange ones, and we ended our talk in laughter.Steven Herrick
8
And I feel like a real Dad when I read to her at night. She won't sleep without one story, at least.Steven Herrick
9
Pretty girls kissed me on victory day, their lips soft red petals brushing my face.Steven Herrick
10
Nobody in school is stronger than me. But when Sally Holmes kissed me, I never felt so weak in all my life.Steven Herrick
11
I tell him about ... Jack and Annabel, smart and ready and I'm wondering where all that smart comes from and I figure some from parents, some from school, and some from a place inside you.Steven Herrick
12
It was a good apple too. A good apple, picked by a madman on a full moon night.Steven Herrick
13
I'm glad she left me the kids. I'd be lost without them. Lost and bitter. With them here, I'm only bitter.Steven Herrick
14
Her body begs to be taken away and put into a warm bed with the sheets pulled high, even though nothing can help now.Steven Herrick
15
Men walk through tragedy, quietly, calm and precise on the outside, tearing themselves to shreds inside.Steven Herrick
16
I've tried praying. It gives me comfort. But not as much as a cup of tea and a ginger nut biscuit.Steven Herrick
17
I'm dreaming of a month of Sundays.Steven Herrick
18
Jack reads too many books. He thinks we're going to drive all year and have great adventures.Steven Herrick
19
Bloody rain” says Mr ChiversBouncing a basketball On the one dry patch of courtbloody rain” he nods to our Sports class And gives us the afternoon off. Bloody rain all right As Annabel and I run to Megalong Creek hut Faster than we ever have in Chivers’s class And the exercise we have in mind We’ve been training for all year But I doubt if old ChiversWill give us a medal if he ever finds out. We high jump into the hut And strip down Climb under the blankets And cheer the bloody rain As it does a lap or two Around the mountain While Annabel and me Embrace like winners should Like good sports do As Mr. Chivers sips his third coffee And twitches his bad knee From his playing days While miles away Annabel and IScore a convincing victory And for once in our school life The words “Physical Education”Make sense….Steven Herrick
20
I walked out of his room sure I'd said the right thing maybe not as a father but as a Dad. I'd said the right thing, for once in my life.Steven Herrick
21
He looks a hell of a lot like me, only a fair bit older.Steven Herrick
22
As I stood on the lonely backroad, I'm sure I heard birds, kookaburras, laughing ...Steven Herrick
23
People say the beach is the great equaliser Who are they kidding? Sit at Bondi and watch the boys flex And the girls walk bolt upright It looks like a nightmare episode of Baywatch.The true equaliser is the mountain cold And stacks of cold flung together Maybe then we’d listen to what each other is saying Instead of checking out the best bods. And as I wrap another layer Around my Size 10I think of Jack’s favourite saying:“today’s tan is tomorrow’s cancer” I walk outside And whistle at the wind.Steven Herrick
24
She didn't have an answer for that. People like her only ever have questions.Steven Herrick
25
I'm drinking away the exam results that don't take me anywhere.Steven Herrick
26
She taught me what's important, and what isn't. And I've never forgotten. And that's what mothers do, I say.Steven Herrick
27
I know that today, with a full tank, and with Annabel, that it's time to go.Steven Herrick