Skip to content
SEO Content Writing. WHS. Technical Writing. eCommerce.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • youtube
  • dashboard

Melinda J. Irvine

Australian content writer and SEO. When she’s not pouring over SmallBIZ analytics, keyword data or blogging — she’s watching Disney movies and building lego spacecows with her adopted son.

0
  • Client Testimonials
    Create great relationships. Here’s a few messages from my beloved writing clients.
  • Content Hacks
    Write better content. Get free content hacks, SEO tips, and web writing strategies.
  • Work With Me
    Get your personal message out to the world. What you want to say, is just a few clicks away.
  • Writing Services
    • SEO Content Writing
      • Blogging
      • Web Content
      • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
    • Business Descriptions
      • Core Values Statements
    • Copywriting
    • Technical Writing
      • HR Documents
      • WHS Writing
      • Online Training Materials
    • Resume Writing Service
      • Professional Resumes
      • CVs
      • Cover Letters
      • Linkedin Profiles
    • Work With Me
      • Orders
      • Account details
      • Lost password
  • Portfolio
    • Pricing
    • Work Methods
    • Client Testimonials
  • About
    • Giving Back
      • Stamps for the Visayans
      • Adopting Jerry
      • Donate
    • neXtDRAFT zine
    • Legal Notices
    • Copyright Policy
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Content Hacks
      • Blogging
      • SEO
      • Instructional Design
      • Content Writing
    • Small Business
      • Administration
      • eCommerce
      • eLearning
      • Safety
    • Book Reviews
    • Giving Back
  • $0.00 0 items
Home » Poetry » Free Verse

Category: Free Verse

poems that won’t obey.

young man cuts pineapples on the streets of the Philippines

Pineapple Vending

by Melinda J. Irvine14 July 201914 September 2019Leave a comment

vending pineapples with urgency money. exchange. quick. before the street guard surge Walking out of the money exchange kiosk I found my path blocked by a tricycle stretched with pineapples. A young man was urgently slicing his wares into plastic…

Read More Pineapple Vending

Culture, Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Pineapples, Poetry
layers of palm fronds

Your narrative

by Melinda J. Irvine21 June 201914 September 2019Leave a comment

each new sun lights layers your narrative sensitive to light © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry Free Verse, Palm Trees, Poetry
red and pink flowers on a fence

Seeing things

by Melinda J. Irvine16 June 201916 June 2019Leave a comment

Seeing red flowers. For the first time. Seeing red flowers. Everywhere. Seeing. For the first time. It's amazing when you see something for the first time. It grabs at you and pulls you in, and you love everything that's bright…

Read More Seeing things

Free Verse, Poetry Flowers, Poetry, Red
bow of a bamboo boat on a small island

The sun has gone

by Melinda J. Irvine31 May 201914 September 2019Leave a comment

the sand scorched heat and absence our monsoon rains are late this year and tonight (at last the night) the dogs will sleep inside fresh holes dug to the cool sand not like this burnt afternoon dusk, where the sun…

Read More The sun has gone

Environment, Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, Summer, Sunset

El Niño

by Melinda J. Irvine28 April 201914 September 2019Leave a comment

mid-summer heat settled shouts out curling leaf fronds brown and cracked clear voices cry rain hear us rain When my mother and sister arrived in Iloilo City 2 weeks ago, they both asked about the brown stuff they could see…

Read More El Niño

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry El Niño, Free Verse, Palm Trees, Poetry
aluminium art2

Art or Autobiography

by Melinda J. Irvine19 April 201914 September 2019Leave a comment

Is it possible to see a piece of art and not look for yourself? Or arrange each piece without turning it into your own autobiography of lost toys, lost time lost poetry, and lost vindications? Not today. Blogging-U: This blog…

Read More Art or Autobiography

Art, Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, shapingyourstory
electrical wires

Disconnectivity

by Melinda J. Irvine30 December 201830 December 2018Leave a comment

connecting each to each building to building house to house pole to pole pod to pod me to me you from you post from post tribe from tribe boozer from boozer each from each disconnecting © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine

Free Verse, Poetry Electricity, Mindfulness, Poetry
ARTIVISM painters Iloilo City 2018 v1

ARTIVISIM: public art with a social impact

by Melinda J. Irvine19 December 201819 December 20183 Comments

there’s art on the streets over every broken wall we see ourselves in paint there’s art on the streets in every broken leaf (or the dirty sea) we see ourselves we paint there’s art on the streets in every broken…

Read More ARTIVISIM: public art with a social impact

Activism, Art, Free Verse, Poetry Artists, Artivism, Free Verse, Poetry
seagulls sitting by the river at dusk

The Navigators

by Melinda J. Irvine1 November 2018Leave a comment

before any great journey is the silent division and brooding contemplation © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, Rivers, Seagulls
camelia bush

My Younger Self

by Melinda J. Irvine9 October 20184 Comments

I saw myself at the bottom of a pink camellia bush stretched out and flailing as my younger self (a perky pink bud) looked away in disdain how could she know? that actually she was looking at herself © 2018…

Read More My Younger Self

Free Verse, Poetry Flowers, Poetry, Youth
in trouble

In Trouble

by Melinda J. Irvine25 September 201825 September 20181 Comment

5 double-sided pages of handwritten notes first he writes "I will not fight my classmates" all the way across the top then he writes 'I will' half-way down the page then he writes 'classmates' half-way down the page then he…

Read More In Trouble

Children, Free Verse, Poetry Detention, Kids, Poetry
rain on leaves

Rain on Leaves

by Melinda J. Irvine22 September 201822 September 20181 Comment

looking for something familiar in a dark place anywhere you can see rain on leaves and your own quiet reflection © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine

Free Verse, Poetry Darkness, Poetry
weird shadows

Not Yet Real

by Melinda J. Irvine21 September 201821 September 2018Leave a comment

at night shadows strike already dark walls and your eyes create things not yet real with a weird filter © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, Shadows
shadows on a wall or fake news

Shadows on a Wall OR Fake News

by Melinda J. Irvine19 September 201819 September 2018Leave a comment

like a shadow cast on wall sometimes you have to step back and remove your sunglasses or step forward and adjust your eyes to see what's real and what is not © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine

Free Verse, Poetry FightFakeNews, Poetry, Shadows
rust and barbed wire

Rust

by Melinda J. Irvine20 August 201820 August 2018Leave a comment

bawal = prohibited umihi = urinate diri = here !!!! = please

Free Verse, Little Poems, Photo Essay, Poetry Poetry, Rusty
this guitar

Guitar Pic

by Melinda J. Irvine9 August 2018Leave a comment

I wonder how many poets have written lamentations of unscratched fretboards plectrums and melodies swallowed? Maybe I should too ///

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Guitars, Poetry
on the street Version 2

On the Street Today

by Melinda J. Irvine7 August 2018Leave a comment

men with an oozing bellies calm fighting roosters water boiled by fire, pours to a plastic bucket duck eggs, grilled corn, peanuts hot, salted by hand flapping tarps and bright umbrellas wet school shoes sirens sounds, and shredded traffic a…

Read More On the Street Today

Culture, Free Verse, Poetry Poetry, Street
jeep and city street

Should I be …

by Melinda J. Irvine7 July 2018Leave a comment

magnifying bits and pieces of something not mine? When you bring your life into the street, is it still yours?

Free Verse, Poetry Jeepney, Poetry, Street
over this wall by Melinda J. Irvine

Over This Wall

by Melinda J. Irvine22 June 2018Leave a comment

Over this wall is a shopping centre aircon and security guards thousands of people over this wall Over the wall is a gasoline station aircon and fancy cars thousands of drivers over the wall Over that wall is a man washing…

Read More Over This Wall

Free Verse, Poetry Poetry, Poverty, The Homeless
mother mary and baby jesus statue

Hands

by Melinda J. Irvine22 May 2018Leave a comment

His hands opened Her's holding onto love mine filled with photographs another's rasping my shoulder for money © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Awkward I'm part of Post A Day 2018 Location: La Paz, Iloilo (Philipppines)

Free Verse, Poetry Cathedral, Hands, Poetry
frangipini in water

A Poem in the Morning

by Melinda J. Irvine17 May 2018Leave a comment

I woke this morning to the sound of a poem. It rained in through the night words and images. And yet even my first response was not to scramble for a pen, but merely smile and seep into a new…

Read More A Poem in the Morning

Free Verse, Poetry Frangipani, Free Verse, Poetry
ants on a pandanus seed

The House of Ants

by Melinda J. Irvine4 May 20184 May 2018Leave a comment

I met a man today on a wooden ferry boat and between the two islands he told me a story. His story, of two boys once seven and once nine when their mother who died. Unable to make a sound…

Read More The House of Ants

Free Verse, Poetry Adoption, Children, kindness, Poetry
the fading sunset

Public Transport

by Melinda J. Irvine29 January 2018Leave a comment

.. stancia ma'am ... Estancia . .. ma' ... we both fit inside cooling pizza pressed to knees my head cracks the thin metal roof and the rider (his knees pointing upward) sweep the metal handles connected to the brakes…

Read More Public Transport

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, Tricycles
i blinked by Melinda J. Irvine

I Blinked

by Melinda J. Irvine21 January 2018Leave a comment

while your eyes were closed i died blink k blink nk blink ink blink link blink blink blink blink © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Blink I'm part of Post A Day 2018 Location: Estancia, Iloilo (Philipppines)

Free Verse, Poetry Death, Grief, Poetry
cat with a toy mouse

Maxine’s First Christmas

by Melinda J. Irvine30 December 201723 February 20184 Comments

we wrapped it in tinsel green, red paper torn her toy mouse tethered to a lower branch the best present a little boy held © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Cozy I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location:…

Read More Maxine’s First Christmas

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Pets, Poetry Cats, Finding Jerry, Poetry
piece of a green leaf

Where Hands Fall

by Melinda J. Irvine1 December 20171 December 2017Leave a comment

where my hands fell (a single blade extensive by the wind) as much a knife as the anthropod animals eat their lunch in tiny bites © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Bite I'm part of Post A Day 2017…

Read More Where Hands Fall

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry Insects, Leaves, Poetry
mountain overlooking rice fields

Sunlight

by Melinda J. Irvine5 November 20175 November 20172 Comments

for weeks our sun lay hidden, inside rain and obscurity fragmented and forgotten she lunged piercing tree leaves penetrating mountain tips and cutting cutting fine each new stem of rice banana leaf torn and palm trees shred like ribbons above…

Read More Sunlight

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, sunlight
lady with flowers

Lady with Orange Flowers

by Melinda J. Irvine2 November 20172 November 2017Leave a comment

paying 10 pesos for photographs and a peek into her life Day of the Dead floral tributes hand woven (her own hands) into little bamboo baskets the hands of the poor in every bunch. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily…

Read More Lady with Orange Flowers

Free Verse, Photo Essay, Poetry DailyPrompt, Flowers, PhotoChallenge, Poetry
wheelbarrow garden

Cloaked Wheelbarrow

by Melinda J. Irvine18 October 2017Leave a comment

grass climbs old black wheel two handles rusted, never again held but hold you, little garden © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Cloaked I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Nambucca Heads (Australia)

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry Free Verse, Gardens, Poetry
heritage house from Hartley, NSW

You Do Not Burn

by Melinda J. Irvine9 October 20179 October 2017Leave a comment

When everyone ran, you remained the grim landscape the same colour as your dress and quiet genius as bushfires licked your garters you laughed that same laugh for decades. Old years pass and turn though just your slip remains you…

Read More You Do Not Burn

Free Verse, Historic Sites, Poetry Australian Bush, Heritage House, introtopoetry, Poetry, Poetry101

Even If They Are Not Ours

by Melinda J. Irvine8 October 20178 October 20171 Comment

is it the familiarity of old things not ours? long since fashionable trinkets and jewels not ours the imagined pleasure of an old memory not ours that we find ourselves? in old wooden halls not ours? © 2017 Melinda J.…

Read More Even If They Are Not Ours

Free Verse, Poetry Antiques, introtopoetry, Poetry, Poetry101
the ever popular blue mountains

What is Rain?

by Melinda J. Irvine3 October 20173 October 2017Leave a comment

Feeling athletic we scramble down (jackets off, hats on, sun hot) to the popular spot we rest among passing long weekenders and languages we don't understand. Rain lands on our shoulders rain lands on our hats rain lands on our…

Read More What is Rain?

Free Verse, Nature, Places, Poetry DailyPrompt, introtopoetry, Poetry, Poetry101, Rain
garden seat among the trees

Spring Circle

by Melinda J. Irvine1 October 20171 October 2017Leave a comment

as any great journey spring in the garden is a sunny place to sit watching the changing sky © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine This is my response to the Blogging University course Writing: Intro to Poetry (Day 4 Journey) Daily…

Read More Spring Circle

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry DailyPrompt, introtopoetry, Poetry, Poetry101
statue of captain cook in Avoca Street Randwick

The Captain Cook Bar and Grill

by Melinda J. Irvine29 September 201729 September 2017Leave a comment

his face remains the historic statue static our dead at our mercy (us) the lifeless living alive under him remembrance at will and they we are dead still © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine This is my response to the Blogging University…

Read More The Captain Cook Bar and Grill

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, introtopoetry, Poetry, Poetry101
close up of some weeds in front a tall tree

The Rains Are Still

by Melinda J. Irvine29 September 201729 September 2017Leave a comment

the rains are still and the flowers quiet stepping over mid-spring holly and a few eager blooms willing to risk the sun without water my feet crunch a tiny piece of the earth planet focused (old mountain patch) full of…

Read More The Rains Are Still

Environment, Free Verse, Nature, Poetry Drought, Free Verse, Gardens, Poetry
shadows on granite rock

Under the Trees

by Melinda J. Irvine24 September 201724 September 2017Leave a comment

below ancient tree roots, where sun light fragments then fades, granite walls (in whispers) recreate these mountains © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Recreate I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry DailyPrompt, Granite, Poetry, Shadows

Helicopters Came and Broke the World

by Melinda J. Irvine11 September 201725 February 20191 Comment

"I want to live there" he sees something beautiful in a painted book of peace From a Distance "Helicopters came and broke the world" he shouts upset He can't comprehend What all this war is for This wonderful book was found…

Read More Helicopters Came and Broke the World

Free Verse, Poetry, Reading Free Verse, Peace, PeaceDay, Poetry

Stinger

by Melinda J. Irvine17 August 201717 August 2017Leave a comment

running across concrete, catching stinger (the 2pm sun) glaring (that bus driver) driving driving another 5 afternooned hours © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Glaring I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry Bus Trips, DailyPrompt, Ferries, Poetry
gasoline in pepsi bottles

Don’t Drink the Pink

by Melinda J. Irvine17 August 201717 August 20178 Comments

In the Philippines don't drink the pink pepsi You might find her a little too spicy ... © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Spicy I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Culture, Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Pepsi, Poetry
enjoy the little things

Dark Carousel

by Melinda J. Irvine15 August 201717 August 2017Leave a comment

pointing i followed his vague directions into some dark parade until a graffitied street, red stopped, then turned me out © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Carousel I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Art, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Murals, Poetry, Street Art
kids on a dilapidated merry go round

The Old Steel Gate

by Melinda J. Irvine23 July 201723 July 2017Leave a comment

How many little boys have passed tickets shouting their delight through this old steel gate? © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Gate I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Fiesta, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday
group of Filipino kids sitting on a little bridge

What You Don’t See

by Melinda J. Irvine9 July 20179 July 20177 Comments

Photographing the top of sugar cane you can't see a group of kids following me along the hot road running back to a little bridge when I turn around. You don't see a man under that sun waving in delight…

Read More What You Don’t See

Culture, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, PhotoChallenge, Poetry
white flowers

A Stranger

by Melinda J. Irvine8 July 20173 Comments

"Jerry!" I called loudly, a fist filled with branches a cell phone camera in the other, awkward under the mass of white flowers trying for a picture. But it was a stranger who turned around walked back smiling and held…

Read More A Stranger

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday
hand scribbled doodle

September 20

by Melinda J. Irvine4 July 20174 July 20174 Comments

It is not what you remember that is surprising it’s what you forget. Only hours later a FB photo emerges, or a video. And the fine details (already forgotten) seem to delight, then shock you. Tiny nuances, the sound of…

Read More September 20

Free Verse, Poetry Death, Free Verse, Grief, Poetry
metal tricycle frame

No Passenger

by Melinda J. Irvine3 July 20172 July 20171 Comment

all the day she waits as afternoons roar with no passenger © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Passenger I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Culture, Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday
view from the top of Bito-on Island

The Island of Stars

by Melinda J. Irvine29 June 20171 Comment

to the top we climbed in the sunny shining "ulihi ulihi gid kami" they passed us by going to the down we are so late so very very late © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Sunny I'm part of…

Read More The Island of Stars

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, islands, Poetry, Postaday
piece of an old sewing machine in black and white

At the Back

by Melinda J. Irvine28 June 2017Leave a comment

decades turned this wheel like clothes worn, falling into that place at the back © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Wheel and Knackered I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday
in the fish market

Buying Fish

by Melinda J. Irvine27 June 201728 June 2017Leave a comment

dodging rain tubs filled with last night my morning begins along mud splatters and shouts of 'Ma'am! "You buy? Ma'am, you buy!" my green rubber thongs step around two tiny girls in freshly checked uniforms and bits of sun shine…

Read More Buying Fish

Culture, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Beneath Us a Poem

by Melinda J. Irvine26 June 201725 June 20171 Comment

frayed texture almost silent poetry under foot © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Yarn I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry
Jerry reaching for fruit on the tree

Endless Energy

by Melinda J. Irvine22 June 201722 June 20171 Comment

Jerry my little loop-de-loop from sun to gone, it sleeps but it never stops © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Loop I'm part of Post A Day 2017

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, FindingJerry, Poetry, Postaday
abstract sketch in blue pen

The Mental Health Section

by Melinda J. Irvine19 June 201719 June 2017Leave a comment

Thumbing the sketchbook I find the mental health section Volume 1: "She Thought She Might Implode:" In Blue Biro. Volume 2: (Out of Print) © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Detonate and Volume I'm part of Post A Day…

Read More The Mental Health Section

Art, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Poetry, Postaday
graffiti in Iloilo City

Unknown Artists

by Melinda J. Irvine15 June 201715 June 20174 Comments

city speaks her name lurid voices piss, the stained human shit a siren behind their streets his only triumph © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Triumph I'm part of Post A Day 2017 This is my contribution for the…

Read More Unknown Artists

Free Verse, Photo Essay, Poetry DailyPrompt, DevelopingYourEye, Free Verse, Poetry

Unmoored

by Melinda J. Irvine22 May 201722 May 2017Leave a comment

adrift in the wash bucket he climbed my arm unmoored © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Adrift and Unmoored

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Wretched Heritage

by Melinda J. Irvine20 May 201720 May 20175 Comments

i am living a tradition my eyes pieces of tin, metal scraps for hands feet (torn nails) just look at my toes! but don't get too close you don't want to see all i've got © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Weekly…

Read More Wretched Heritage

Free Verse, Photo Essay, Poetry Free Verse, PhotoChallenge, Poetry, Postaday, Poverty

Little Wizard

by Melinda J. Irvine20 May 201719 May 20171 Comment

you replay crouching behind a tricycle and surprising me with your collected "love potion" swirling leaves and flowers and petals "you will fall in love tita mel!" you shouted showering me in your wish. then once more for you. ©…

Read More Little Wizard

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry FindingJerry, Free Verse, Poetry

Early

by Melinda J. Irvine19 May 20178 Comments

light passing torn clouds palm leaf rags tattered hut poverty a man into rice fields out the window of the bus © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Photo Challenge: Reflecting

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, PhotoChallenge, Poetry, Postaday
Final by Melinda J. Irvine

Final

by Melinda J. Irvine14 May 201714 May 20173 Comments

There is a courage in final the last stroke the brush lain; there is a courage at final the full stop the send. There is a courage in final the last line the light turned the calling and ending the leaving you gone.…

Read More Final

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

A Simple Island Life

by Melinda J. Irvine9 May 20174 Comments

Each morning begins before the sun appears over the cliff raining daylight along the leeward living below our 21st century sun. Monkeys grab at fruit scraps (sometime pets) a few chickens and fecund dogs wander a small shore. Children squeal…

Read More A Simple Island Life

Free Verse, People, Places, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Islas de Gigantes, Poetry, Postaday

Leaving the Temple

by Melinda J. Irvine28 March 20171 Comment

wreathed boy spoke limestone or held bird © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Photo: Limestone statuette of a boy with a wreath of leaves

Art, Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry, Senryu Free Verse, Poetry, Sculpture, Senryu

Praying for a New Moon

by Melinda J. Irvine1 February 20172 February 20179 Comments

This moon has a scent black and pungent a small crack surrounded in smoke. It slashes at your door when the lights are gone, and demands a daughter. She bargained herself for her small sister’s stead (did the little girl see…

Read More Praying for a New Moon

Activism, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, DiscoverWP, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday, violence

A Weekend of Rest

by Melinda J. Irvine20 January 201715 February 20171 Comment

a weekend of rest, (I'm still blogging though for fun) back in his country reunited us wandering the festive streets remembering us in bright streets transformed the Dinagyang aesthetic a weekend of rest © 2017 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Aesthetic and Overworked

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Dinagyang Festival, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

What I See

by Melinda J. Irvine15 January 201715 February 20176 Comments

You see what I see. See my world in my poems. Though you, you are unseen. © 2017 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Unseen

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

One Sunset

by Melinda J. Irvine14 January 201715 February 20176 Comments

She warms us, lights us. Of more is she capable, our centre, our sun. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Capable

Free Verse, Little Poems, Nature, Photo Essay, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday, Sunset

Someday

by Melinda J. Irvine13 January 201715 February 20176 Comments

We will watch the sunset painting names in bright colours (like a family). © 2017 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Someday

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Layers of a Tree

by Melinda J. Irvine9 January 201715 February 20171 Comment

Infinite layers of years, of bark, of living. Yet he can be told. © 2017 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Infinite

Free Verse, Little Poems, Nature, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Decades

by Melinda J. Irvine2 January 201730 May 20194 Comments

"your daughter has committed suicide" my brother-in-law says to my 80 year old father "and it's your fault!" tonight after years of domestic abuse, violence and insults ... [i hang it up] he rings back, of course. crazed, demanding, belittling,…

Read More Decades

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, domestic violence, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Christmas in Retreat

by Melinda J. Irvine27 December 201615 February 20172 Comments

3.30am neighbours finally silent, interstate plates homed. the street has wound down to wind and a few last lights: Christmas in retreat. © 2016 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Retreat

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

The Colours of Day

by Melinda J. Irvine26 December 201626 December 20161 Comment

Wandering the last of the roses, her festive garden colours Christmas days in mountain blues, lilacs and the tiny shades of bees. © 2016 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Festive

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Just Sand

by Melinda J. Irvine24 December 201615 February 20173 Comments

Here I am 'home'. And my passport, driver's licence and cards all agree. And so I wander the lonely beaches here every day looking for new poems and pictures to discover, and hide from everything like Christmas or old friends…

Read More Just Sand

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Calm

by Melinda J. Irvine23 December 201615 February 20171 Comment

There are no concepts inside the waves: nothing made up or imagined. Inside the waves there is only truth, fact, here and a deepening calm. © 2016 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Calm

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

She Was Light

by Melinda J. Irvine21 December 20165 Comments

I saw a happiness in her, a change in fortune. Tiny pieces radiating colour from inside. And she again heard bird sounds and saw midday sunshine above trees. She felt something and believed again, she was light. © 2016 Melinda Irvine…

Read More She Was Light

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

The Monster You Created

by Melinda J. Irvine13 December 201615 February 2017Leave a comment

A highway passed here once, doors widened to commerce and community. Time and highways flee these places remaining only at a distance (like the monster you created). © Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Flee

Free Verse, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

Curtains of the Old House

by Melinda J. Irvine12 December 201615 February 20172 Comments

Curtains take many forms. Mystical screens weave twelve decades of secrets. © Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Mystical

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

New Horizon

by Melinda J. Irvine11 December 201615 February 20171 Comment

"I will come back here, new horizons, wildflowers and rest call me." As I promise to my cousin I do wonder though ... ... will I come back here? © 2016 Melinda Irvine Weekly Photo Challenge: New Horizon

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry PhotoChallenge, Poetry

Vanish

by Melinda J. Irvine7 December 201615 February 20171 Comment

I can vanish the moon. Oh, it's so easy to delete moons, sand spinifex grass and old memories. Keeping stuff is much harder. © Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Vanish

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Poetry, Postaday

From the Black Forest

by Melinda J. Irvine5 December 201615 February 20171 Comment

Fundraising to adopt Jerry has really binded my family as we all search for once sacred relics to sell. This little wooden bear was handed over enthusiastically with detailed instructions for pricing (which I will strictly adhere to as this little poem illustrates).…

Read More From the Black Forest

Family, Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry DailyPrompt, Free Verse, Haiku, Poetry, Postaday

Echo

by Melinda J. Irvine3 December 20166 December 20163 Comments

Sound travels differently under the water. The familiar becoming noise, or the nothing become sound. Under the water each breath becomes a bubble, strangely reverberating I am an echo. © 2016 Melinda Irvine Daily Prompt: Echo I shot this video at…

Read More Echo

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry DailyPrompt, Grey Nurse Sharks, Poetry, Postaday

The Magic of Ebor Daisies

by Melinda J. Irvine30 November 201627 February 20182 Comments

Tired driving hands turn the wheel exploring white roadside flowers. Calm is their magic and, soothed by their spring arrival, those same hands return. © 2016 Melinda Irvine  

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry Free Verse, PhotoChallenge, Poetry

New England Harvest

by Melinda J. Irvine29 November 201615 February 20175 Comments

displaying all the Australian blues, greens and golds, I am home again. © 2016 Melinda Irvine

Free Verse, Little Poems, Poetry Free Verse, Harvest, Poetry

I Went Looking for Piglets: a One Versed Mystery

by Melinda J. Irvine2 November 20162 December 2016Leave a comment

© 2016 Melinda Irvine My contribution to the Blogging-U course Photography: Developing Your Eye II (Day 2 Mystery).

Free Verse, Poetry DevelopingYourEye, Mystery, Poetry

Navigating the Backroads

by Melinda J. Irvine28 October 201628 November 20162 Comments

home is a tangle of paperbarks home is dad's buckled old ute full of brown dogs home is a black-sanded pathway past the swamp home is an osprey's nest rebuilt again last year home is the sound of glossy blacks…

Read More Navigating the Backroads

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry Backroads, Paperbarks, Poetry

Ignoring Safety Advice

by Melinda J. Irvine4 October 20161 December 20162 Comments

in the beginning i remember thinking ... i will never ever board one of those dodgy carnival rides circling fiestas their steel support posts levelled out on rocks and pieces of concrete rubble. but yeh, i did. and yeh, i do.…

Read More Ignoring Safety Advice

Culture, Free Verse, Poetry Allowing, Poetry, Safety

Rice On the Road

by Melinda J. Irvine30 August 201615 February 20173 Comments

We walk along wet roadside picturing the new sunlight on rice farms, fathers and hardwork. Barefeet turn drying rice as trucks beep confused alarm at the white woman and small brown boy out in unsheltered heat. Flood water rushes through our…

Read More Rice On the Road

Free Verse, Photo Essay, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, Poverty, Rice

Inside a Tree

by Melinda J. Irvine22 August 201615 February 20177 Comments

i wish i could give you the beauty of this tree how (even in all this) rusted bars dirty glass framed with grime and plastic tubes roaring air-con dust clad window noise little pieces of wire strung bits of stuff…

Read More Inside a Tree

Free Verse, Poetry Cities, Free Verse, Poetry, Street Noise, Trees

No Extra Charge for Ants

by Melinda J. Irvine20 August 201615 February 2017Leave a comment

i know we think our medical system is flawed (most likely it is) BUT have you ever seen an australian baby in our hospitals fanned by an old piece of cardboard, their IV drip hung on a window latch, and…

Read More No Extra Charge for Ants

Free Verse, Poetry, Women Babies, Free Verse, Hospitals, hygiene, medical care, Poetry, Poverty

Reality

by Melinda J. Irvine8 August 201612 August 2016Leave a comment

The window is open The curtains are curled The sun shines brightly I can't hear a sound Nothing is broken All lights are on No-one inside I am not afraid of the four rapid gun-shots © 2016 Melinda Irvine

Free Verse, Photo Essay, Poetry fear, Free Verse, Poetry, Reality, Repetition, Windows

Lichen

by Melinda J. Irvine5 August 201615 February 2017Leave a comment

bold lichen grows. no matter how many ways i look at you, i still don't know what colour you are. orange, red yellow. who are you? © 2016 Melinda Irvine Pondering the photos from my trip home to Australia last month.

Free Verse, Nature, Poetry Free Verse, Granite, lichen, mysteries, Poetry

Time

by Melinda J. Irvine1 July 201615 February 20171 Comment

time passes slowly before me each particle every fragment finding its own place finding its own time floating alone not lonely © 2016 Melinda Irvine

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, time, transmedia

My Mother’s Garden

by Melinda J. Irvine29 June 201617 April 20172 Comments

my mother's garden is older than me in places (it has places) i have never stood or seen until now, remembering cedar trees (dad planted them when we were little) and weekends spent collecting bush seeds, saplings and native vines,…

Read More My Mother’s Garden

Family, Free Verse, Poetry Family, Free Verse, Gardens, Poetry

The Public Market

by Melinda J. Irvine1 June 20163 July 2019Leave a comment

hanging resting smoking standing waiting © 2016 Melinda Irvine

Free Verse, People, Poetry baskets, hot chilies, market, Poetry
a picture from Fairyland

I Am Ready to Fly

by Melinda J. Irvine5 April 201614 September 20193 Comments

i am ready to fly and the wind is with me ... © 2016 Melinda Irvine The lovely painting was inside an old book called 'Fairyland' by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. I found in the shearing shed at my grandmother's farm…

Read More I Am Ready to Fly

Art, Free Verse, Poetry Fairies, Flying, Poetry

Finding Myself Again

by Melinda J. Irvine14 March 201628 November 20165 Comments

allowing high-tide to wash over my body following dragonflies with sky-turned eyes eating on the sand together balancing on a bamboo outrigger calling two little boys to lunch searching for fresh tree seeds and leaves shaking sand from my swimmer…

Read More Finding Myself Again

Free Verse, Places, Poetry Free Verse, islands, Poetry, Summer

Bad Me

by Melinda J. Irvine3 March 201618 October 20162 Comments

bad me’ i heard his little voice say ‘bad me’ small head turned into the pillow ‘bad me’ i had scolded him for breaking a yellow colouring pencil he stomped it into two pieces discarded for garbage i found it…

Read More Bad Me

Finding Jerry, Free Verse, Poetry Children, Finding Jerry, Parenting, Poetry

Choices

by Melinda J. Irvine16 December 201513 August 2016Leave a comment

who do you choose? gifted kids? poor families good grades always in school doctors dentists teachers 'good' boys always in school but what about other kids? poor families bad grades never in school laundry-work cleaners begging 'bad' girls never in…

Read More Choices

Free Verse, Giving Back, Poetry Free Verse, high school, Poetry, Poverty, teenagers

His last hours

by Melinda J. Irvine10 December 201518 December 20161 Comment

“When you receive this letter, I shall be dead by then…. Tomorrow at seven, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion…. I am going to die with a tranquil conscience.” José Rizal © 2015…

Read More His last hours

Free Verse, People, Poetry Free Verse, josé rizal, Poetry

Into his direction

by Melinda J. Irvine9 December 201513 August 2016Leave a comment

i saw a woman hurt today inside a crumble of people staring as a man and security guard grapple toward a woman LOUD and voices indiscernable security guard LOUDER as man rushes at her, young woman his hand raised, fist…

Read More Into his direction

Free Verse, Poetry Cities, domestic violence, Free Verse, Poetry

Laundry Soap

by Melinda J. Irvine30 November 201528 November 2016Leave a comment

the Plaza Molo transformed. where is lawn grown green that seated last December? dead lifeless garden remnants "are you drawing church?" asks policeman, pointing to red notebook 'no' hear myself reply 'writing it' smiles approvingly denied rain centuried brick falling…

Read More Laundry Soap

Free Verse, Historic Sites, Poetry Free Verse, plaza molo, Poetry, Poverty

Click here to permanently delete your account

by Melinda J. Irvine12 November 201513 August 20161 Comment

Feeling strangely like cyanide The killing of my digital self I am afraid So bold hours ago I made lists So I would do it properly Not miss a thing Kill everything Insecticide myself Yet here I am I am…

Read More Click here to permanently delete your account

Culture, Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, offline, Poetry, Social Media

Smile for a sack of rice

by Melinda J. Irvine3 November 201518 December 20161 Comment

they know exactly why they are smiling why I was arriving at 10.30 in the morning why they had to put on pants and shoes eldest sister points her little brother to the camera light smile for a sack of…

Read More Smile for a sack of rice

Free Verse, Giving Back, Poetry Free Verse, Humanitarian Aid, Poetry, Poverty

Truth

by Melinda J. Irvine12 September 20156 December 2016Leave a comment

Speak to me of your truth without words letting your lips pass into silence; show me only in action letting deeds reveal the heart inside of you; speak not today letting the truth be in your quiet. Allowing the sounds…

Read More Truth

Free Verse, Poetry Free Verse, Poetry, truth

Posts navigation

1 2 Next

Connect now

Melinda J. Irvine SEO Writing Services
+61 438 409 779
mel@writingbiz.net
A QUICK GUIDE TO BUSINESS BLOGGING STRATEGY

Practical answers to your questions.

What is a Guest Post? Why is everyone blogging? How do I monetise my website? How can blogging help me achieve my business and sales goals?

Top Posts & Pages

  • Rizal Park Manila
    Rizal Park Manila
  • Writing a Company Profile
    Writing a Company Profile
  • Tax Tips for Australian Writers
    Tax Tips for Australian Writers
  • SEO Content Writing Service
    SEO Content Writing Service
  • Get Paid to Write Your Personal Story
    Get Paid to Write Your Personal Story
  • Australian SEO Content Writer
    Australian SEO Content Writer
  • Showcase Your Writing: building an online writing portfolio
    Showcase Your Writing: building an online writing portfolio
  • Celebrating Buwan ng Wika 2018
    Celebrating Buwan ng Wika 2018
  • Professional Writing Services
    Professional Writing Services
  • Myall Creek Massacre
    Myall Creek Massacre

Archives

Browse categories

What do you need written? You tell me, I write it down. It really is that simple.

About Mel.

Melinda J. Irvine is an Australian writer, poet, and blogger living between the Philippines and Australia. Mel is adopted mum to Jerry, a Filipino boy she met while volunteering after Typhoon Yolanda. All the money she earns as a professional writer is used to support Jerry’s recovery — plus help the other kids from his village go to school.

neXtDRAFT zine # 68.

neXtDRAFT 68. February 2020

Giving Back.

When I'm not writing or helping clients grow their business, I'm actively building an online learning centre for the kids of Botongon (Philippines). If you'd like to help out, please make a donation via PAYPAL. You'll get a proper tax receipt and regular project updates. More info.
2021 Melinda J. Irvine
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • youtube
  • dashboard

Login


7   +   4   =  

Forgot Password?