Views in Verse on - Robin Williams

He Brought Us Joy!

Views in Verse on - Robin Williams


Life is jelly-bean colours,
Fireworks in the sky.
A silvery beam is shining...
Out of a wondering eye.

extract from 'Serendipity'
Grahame J Flynn

Views in verse - Batyr a new voice for depression in young people

A new place to go for young people 

facing depression - www.batyr.com.au




I was delighted to incidentally take part in a presentation by the CEO of Batyr last week as part of an industry function I was attending. The segment recognised the volunteer work done by many people who had built a new empowering webpage for this splendid innovation for Australian youth:


BATYR AIMS TO ENGAGE, EDUCATE AND EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES BY FOSTERING AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE  TALKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND SEEKING HELP IS NOT ONLY ACCEPTED, BUT IS ENCOURAGED AND SUPPORTED.

The programs connect secondary and tertiary students with young speakers who have successfully managed a social or mental health experience. We educate students about the support networks and systems available to them and empower students to reach out for help when they need it.

Despite 1 in 4 young people suffering a mental health issue by the end of adolescence, mental health issues are not openly discussed and remain the ’elephant in the room’.  Mental ill health holds a stigma that prevents open and frank exchanges and ultimately is a barrier to young people getting the help they need. Batyr speakers share their life experiences of issues such as depression, suicide, anxiety, stress, sexual assault, eating disorders, bullying and personal health.  They discuss the first hand benefits of reaching out, what avenues of support helped them and show students they are not alone and help is always available.

We use the four steps Look, Listen, Talk and Seek Help -as a simple way of educating students on what they can do for themselves or a friend they are worried about.  It’s about looking for changes in behaviour, the importance of listening to the person dealing with an issue, how to talk with them and where they can seek help when they need it.

Comment:

Where the Beyond Blue has great awareness with the adult population these wonderful folk have seen the screaming need for a service targetted at young people so that they not only know where to go ...but that they will be encouraged to go there!

Congratulations to all those who helped and to the founders of Batyr for persevering in a realm that receives precious little recognition - let alone support.

Dark Reptiles

Dawn breaks bitter light

Stirring stone refuge once more

intruding again on broken sleep

Red eyes stare down the door

Movement doesn't come easy

Reticent to leave the source

Where can one go to find refuge?

Fate steer me that safer course 

Inviting faces challenge the mask

The now freeing frame distracts

As routine brings timely release

In hiding the guarded facts

How can I improve  my position here?

Can warmth not ease the doubt?

As the stalking dog ...he pads nearby

He's always, always, about.

Over the shoulder a shadow looms

night can't be far away...

Bent in regression a constant curse; 

Call dark to shroud the day!

So bring me sleep to salve my life

In an all too brief reprieve

The gloom closes in yet sleep does not come

the subconscious defying the need

Where do you go; where do you go?

To escape this moribund place
Waiting for heat 
from much needed sun 
with a gripped gnarling face

   
epilogue:

    The ones that I love

    They take good care

    They know the struggle in me

    The ones that I love

    They know me well but

    Their love can't set me free


Forwarded from my I pad - Grahame J Flynn

Views in Verse - on Intolerance

Views in verse on intolerance

I grew up an Irish Catholic boy well imbued by the White Australia rantings of Arthur 'Cocky' Calwell -  the (then) Labour Party Leader of Australia. The white hat says it all!

His deluded views about Communism and Asian folk as its weapon of destruction spread into an Australian form of McCarthyism - 'reds under beds'.






My father too (sadly) became afflicted by these 'ratbag' teachings which were so manifest throughout the Catholic Church at the time. My father (as a convert) to 'the faith' swallowed it all - no questions asked - as did many - given that broad media communications of the day were highly limited.

This backdrop was then a ready justification for the Vietnam War scenario. The Catholic vote was at that time massive compared to what it is today. The decision to fight (often put down to American pressure) seemed a natural progression given the 'story' spawned from within society as a result of Calwell and the church.

All of this seems a vast world away from the social issues we deal with today. However allow me to dwell for a moment...to colour the hatred that was allowed to become manifest yet perhaps has now hopefully died with my late father's generation.

At my infants school our class was subjected to a Sister Vincent (a St Joseph's order nun) who on a daily basis would deliver us a Calwell-ish rant against communism and share her fear that we would soon all be overrun by the people from the North. The woman had clearly 'swallowed a pill' that her protected 'religious' life was not able to rationalise for her. Hatred can do that to people - it is counter to all our basic learnings in life.

Sister was thankfully relieved of her duties half way through that year and quietly taken away. No-one would ever know however of the damage done; the fear she had injected into the seventy odd  children she 'taught'.

Me, I would myself suffer from a recurring dream of 'reds' climbing over our back fence at home for many years to come. Perhaps the bigotry she practised was taken on board by many of this group as a form of self-defence; again I will never know. I somehow suspect not however, despite what we sometimes read in our papers in relation to visiting students and Australian intolerance. Yes, there is history, but today...? Naa.

For my part, only twenty years later on , I married into a Chinese family. Perhaps I should come and chisel that into your gravestone 'Cocky' as a post script to your planned impact on the next generation.

For the Catholic Church bit, I no longer practise. As my life evolved, I looked for integrity in my roots and found too many 'contradictions' coming to the surface that I, like Sr. Vincent, couldn't swallow. Intolerance of any kind I still struggle with today. Religion - everyone is entitled to their own beliefs - how can we question that? Well, how can we? We must respect people's rights to make their own decisions.

* Frank Hardy's 'Power without glory' is an excellent text that conveys the social tensions of this 'colourful' time and the destructive scourge that comes with rising to positions of power.

* Arthur Calwell must be noted as voting against going to war but it also must be noted he was Opposition leader at the time



And justice for all...?

A wild but stumbling rush
a thirst for brother's blood
a victim falls hard before a baying crowd
A lusty blow is struck
just one with any luck
roars of faith ring out for hours
good and loud

The wild group arrived
a sword strapped by the side
the verdict a prescribed but grisly fate
A rigid but cruel
right of tribal rule
it seems justice can be swift
no need to wait

A bunker lit up bright
well into winter's night
Top brass around a massive table
Seems the generals have their say:
"Sir,there is no other way...!"
"but to hit this region hard
to keep it stable!"

The cameras whirl and play
at church that very day
it didn't really matter it wasn't Sunday

"God bless this call we've made

there'll be so many saved"...
(except for thousands there trapped
along the way)

It seems the rules are clear
handed down o'er many years
for a phalanx to extol it's common call
It's well known far and wide
that with god at your side
his will is clearly done
through one and all


But is it really fair?
whose premise we compare...?
seems they'll all see fit to make a rightful plea?
Appears there's justice there for all
for help with righteous cause
as long as one goes down
on bended knee...?


from my desktop Grahame J Flynn

Views in verse on the change-bringer - Waratahs win at last!

Views in Verse on 'change bringers'

Waratahs win maiden title in Super XV competition

on their belief in a mission!





Last Night in front of 62,000 people at Homebush Stadium in Sydney, the NSW Warataths beat the Crusaders 33-32 in what was a rousing game of rugby.

The latter being many times champions and recognised as the toughest team to beat in a final. The former a side of (well) 'showponies' who loved to perform but were often not committed to win or so it seemed to their long suffering supporters ...until last night.

What brought about this change? They always had good players. The club was always well funded. But over time they lost their fans owing to their erratic performances and a revolving door of players. What changed?

Last year they enlisted the help of a European Cup winning coach. An Australian as it turned out - Michael Cheka. He came to the table with an uncompromising style based in player belief and a mission to play the game as it is intended to be played - 'openly' and with firm regard to the fans enjoyment. One would follow the other as this resulted in the biggest Final crowd in Super XV history.

The key to it all : Cheka taught them to believe in their own success.

If in doubt go back to what you believe gets you there. As they struggled through the second half last night and the Crusaders began to spin their tight web of control on the game, it was refreshing to see the open 'trust in what we know' style return as they stormed off with the win.

I had of late heard Cheka's talk of trusting to 'let the head go' as the only thing that will deliver the required outcome. A lesson to any long suffering golfer who tries to steer the club-head onto the fairway only to be later found trudging off into the trees. I heard one of his key players reiterate it this week and then again Bernard Foley mentioned it after the game last night as one of their key success factors.

Cheka brought about a common belief (previously missing) among a group of what must be called 'star players' who will now go on to form the bulk of the Australian team to meet a lot of again common faces in the Crusaders team who will very soon roll up as "All Blacks" to meet the Wallabies.

However when asked to comment on this, the 'Tahs' captain Michael Hooper (also the Australian Captain) quickly corrected the reporter with "This is all about the Tahs mate ...all about the Tahs". Absolutely correct, as the common bond found here amongst these "star players" was the mission and the strategy shared by this group of players, provided by an uncommonly inspirational coach.

Cheka was later seen wandering around the ground in a very unpretentious way; in fact he could have been any of the fans who had wandered down from the stand. Well, every one of those fans (and not just the ones who were there) thanks you for delivering on what has been in many past years a painful leaderless mission.

You made the difference 'Chek'. A real Change - bringer!!!

You hear the word 'transformation' loosely thrown around these days in the corporate world in which I dwell. One of the latest management 'weasel words' used politically to reward faceless people who do sometimes very little towards real change in a loosely prescribed initiative. The team is often refreshed quietly every few years (see National Bank this week) for purposes of continuing the reward stream without too much fuss. Much in the way the Waratahs had been!

Perhaps trusting in "letting the head go" might resonate with the new team there if they're remotely interested in pursuing any clear objectives!

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
was required
for open thought to breed

Dylan surfaced
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it served enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon alone
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free


From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

Views in verse on the one great single class society

 Australians - whatever it takes ...together! He who chooses to talk and not act will not be rewarded afterwards.

Views in Verse on the one great single class society



Joe Hockey has long been lauded as a key contender for leadership of the Australian Liberal Party given he has appeared in the past 'electable' in the eyes of the Australian public. Son of a migrant - common appeal - easy going style - no pretension to grandeur.

Now he gets the Treasurer's job: fails to sell his first budget, can't legislate it, unable to collaborate on it, no alternative floated and yet ...amongst all of this he is 'writing a book'. And then ...despite the carnage around him he ...goes ahead and formally launches the book. So in the space of a few weeks he has gone from being Joe, everyone's mate, to Joe the Treasurer given to 'hubris' (something Australian voters will not tolerate!).

In this same space of time, Julie Bishop - another of Abbott's senior ministers, formerly a twenty year practising lawyer, and probably not seen as warm to the electorate because of her stern demeanour; in the meantime. she simply gets on with her Foreign Affairs role.

The first major challenge she has in her role, the loss of 28 Australians over the Ukraine. Julie Bishop simply goes out and successfully takes on Vladimir Putin. In doing so, represents to the world how we as Australians like to be seen to support each other. No need to promote herself. She just went out and did her job as best she could. Australians love to see their representatives 'doing the hard-yards' as they do themselves in their own work every day.

We see ourselves as a single class society working together as one - there is no room for 'hubris' in getting things done - chest beating doesn't pay - all uphill from here Joe!

Good luck! Get some new advisers!

The Rose, the Sun and the Sea

She was the kindest of woman

her beauty long lost to the sun

She came to this port as a stranger

for the love of "a wayward one"

Most thought:

 "he'd since died a sailor"

Put it down to his 'late father's bent'

But back to this headland

she'd return each day

Early ...without relent

After this vigil

She'd walk through town

Shoulders thrown back as she'd go

Watching out 

for new arrivals

the coachman's brow would lo'

In the early years 

neat and composed

Never missing the odd chance to talk

Her appearance waned

with each new year

yet purpose still clear in her walk

She'd stop and she'd chat

to the waifs and the needy

A port town carries it's share

Helping out at the sailor's home too

Plenty of work to do there

She also worked hard for a living

under the Milliner's shop

Until one grey morn'

when the Constable announced:

"her rounds had come to a stop"

It seems the Squire

from a nearby cove

had called that very same day

With ghastly news 

that a body was found

Floating ...face down ...in the bay

Her funeral was said to be touching

All of the children were there

Even the seamen 

made their way up the hill

with flowers ...to rest in her hair

The Mayor declared her (to be)

"of good breeding"...

who came to us 'through the back door"

Describing such situations as "travesties..."

"...such things shouldn't happen at all"

Most would have noticed too

a stranger there...

Sitting amongst the throng

A refined old woman...

Who said not a word...

In a short while she was gone

The Landlord later noted:

"personal things were taken...

...right to the very last one"

All that was left 

in his seaward loft

Was a rose...

...now bleached by the sun.

Forwarded from my I pad - Grahame J Flynn