These little snaps aren't the best shots in my collection but they do capture the essence of 'road widening' in the Philippines. Since 2014 roads all over the country are being widened 2 metres on either side. And it doesn't…
Tag: DailyPrompt
My responses to the Wordpress Daily Prompt: published everyday.
Balut
For the un-initiated, the Philippine delicacy Balut (pronounce it bah-lute) is a boiled duck egg. But the developing embryo of the chick is still inside and it has all this cooked smelly liquid that runs out when you crack it. Ewwww!…
Sunlight
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…
The Little Journal
Whenever I'm in the National Bookstore (or any bookstore for that matter), I always seem to gravitate to the journals. Notebooks fill up very quickly in my house and I never, ever go anywhere without a journal in my bag.…
Lady with Orange Flowers
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…
All Saints Day in the Philippines
All Saints Day (November 1st) in the Philippines is a significant event. It's a day to honour the dead, remember friends and family, as well as express gratitude to ancestors and those who made sacrifices for the future of the…
Happy Halloween
Jerry could never look ghoulish, he's just too damned cute. We've had such a wonderful few days in the halloween themed Iloilo City; trick or treating and playing 'Wizards'. Happy Halloween friends. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Ghoulish…
Real Market
weaved by hands hanging, basket & bauble beautiful © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Fluff Weekly Photo Challenge: Rounded I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Iloilo City (Philipppines)
Jerry’s Ballet Class
One morning I was sitting at my desk working until I heard some familiar classical music emanating from where Jerry was watching Netflix on the tablet. I turned around in surprise and asked him what cartoon he was watching. "Oh…
Abandoned
picturing rain falls abandoned cacophony (stepping back) soiled diapers the smell human piss stepping further further further back, looking up into what looking back into what into once into when looking back seeing © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt:…
It’s Raining
red and purple pieces of city lights and lumes inside a street puddle © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Surreal I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Iloilo City (Philippines)
Jerry’s New Shoes
flash colours interchange a nine-year-old's grinning illuminated shoes © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Enlighten I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Iloilo City (Philippines)
Where She Once Stood
her cracks remain she'd split into two but we did not expect the end of you © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Expect I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Nambucca Heads (Australia)
Slim Dusty Centre
Growing up listening to my father playing Slim Dusty I never fully appreciated his music until later in life. Slim grew up in a little town not half an hour from where I was born, and his childhood upbringing on…
Yes, it’s happened to #metoo
As General Manager of an RSL in western NSW, every Saturday morning I'd come into the venue to run the weekly chook raffle. Using the club microphone and PA system I'd have a usually have a laugh and joke with…
Someone Before Me
on a lonely shore someone had stood before me webbed footprints in sand © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Exceptional I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Nambucca Heads (Australia)
Adopting Jerry
It was May 2015 that I first met Jerry wandering the dirt backroads of Estancia in the Philippines. Two and a half years later I'm actively working to legally adopt Jerry under the Philippine domestic system. It's known as "expat…
Like Many People
Do you (like many people) look for future in the clouds? Do you (like many people) find your future in the sun? Do you (like many people) think your future's 'mine' not 'ours'? Do you (like many people) think our…
What is Rain?
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…
An Imperfect Limerick
there was a young man that I worshiped who had a strange disease (let’s call it ‘perfect’) but as the doctor explained it could not be contained yeh I suppose that’s really why I divorced him © 2017 Melinda J.…
Spring Circle
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…
Friends Remembered
A Friend cried From inside the Rain forged Lilac "old sprIng blOssom!" EveryWhere coincideNcE? Dont Really know but Something whispered ... liSten ... to the flowers and I remembered © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine This is my response to the Blogging University course…
Spring Rhododendrons
bright pinks, red-purples pamper the twisting ivy spring rhododendrons © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Weekly Photo Challenge: Windows Daily Prompt: Pamper I'm part of Post A Day 2017 Location: Blachheath (Australia)
Avoca Street
Randwick is awash with spring blossoms! I love the way the white blooms and their dark brown twiggy branches launch the most beatiful layers of little windows to the sky. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Weekly Photo Challenge: Layered Daily…
Something Mighty
over the mountains I flew tiny fragments of life passed on below something mighty in their whisper it brought me back © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Mighty and Crumb I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Fire in September
flames, cousins, aunts, fire tentative photo of mum the old fire place © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Tentative I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Under the Trees
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
Glorious Spring
Arriving back in Australia for glorious spring. My father is in hospital waiting heart surgery and I'm spending my waiting days photographing blossoms and remembering what it is like to write poetry. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Glorious…
Give Way
Art on streets of the flavourful city of Sydney. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Flavourful I'm part of Post A Day 2017
More than a Moment
though he smiles for me the hand on the water pump stuck, in his eternity © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Jiffy and Trance I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Wet
open to the wind her loud (faster) rushed and wild catch a single drop © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Solitary and Unfurl I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Stinger
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
Don’t Drink the Pink
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
Dark Carousel
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
Symphony
symphony in the market each new table a leisurely andante © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Symphony and Amble I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Baby Brothers
baby takes a a bath laundry tub filled with brothers one partner hiding © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Partner I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Roadside Fiesta
her sultry shimmer betwitching her passersby late night fiesta © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Shimmer I'm part of Post A Day 2017
No Tears For the Young
we watched him lain final life barely begun just 20 years old his song yet unsung and I wondered where God was to tell what he’d done but the silence it stationed no tears for the young and she called…
Hidden
soft shines the sun her mid-morning light through the beauty of the young jealous hidden night © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Hidden I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The Old Steel Gate
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
Three Cats Run Away
three moxie cats flex their ambitions then run away © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Moxie I'm part of Post A Day 2017 SaveSave
Afternoon Caper
faded sun finding its last men waving goodbye © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Caper I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The Outdoors Life
Do you have the grit for the outdoors life? A life where you'll sleep not alone (but alone). Where everyone sees, but no one sees you. Where everyone knows you, but nobody knows. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Grit…
Little Savage
every thing primal in your wreckless purrrrrrrrrr © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Savage I'm part of Post A Day 2017
What You Don’t See
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…
A Stranger
"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…
Cat Has a Name
This is Maxine and she is definitely not allowed inside. Well mostly anyway. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Tether I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Aloft
little white sail inside a green sea aloft © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Sail I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The Kids of Purok 7
Jerry visits an old playground where his house used to be © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Scamper and Snack I'm part of Post A Day 2017
No Passenger
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
Sea Snake Snack
curious me I kinda wish I'd eaten one mmm kind of © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Snack Weekly Photo Challenge: Transient I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Little Family of Strays
Yesterday on our afternoon walk, I swore I heard some lost kittens calling each other. To be honest it's actually hard not to find or hear lost kittens on afternoon walks, there are so many street dogs and cats roaming…
Roots
along an old trail we walk to grandmother's house seven kids and me © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Roots and Gray I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The Island of Stars
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…
Afternoon Walk
sprinkled along the trail red flowers © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Blanket I'm part of Post A Day 2017 SaveSave SaveSave
At the Back
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
Buying Fish
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…
Papaya
papaya sweet-scented flower the whole night © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Perfume I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Two Hot Days Later
he wanted pets trapped small fish and shrimp in plastic cups © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Cringe I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Monarch in the Garden
stately white flowers hold tall their golden sceptre perfect lined satin © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Illusion I'm part of Post A Day 2017
We Watched the Tide Fall
we watched the tide fall chased tiny fish into cups swimming till sunset © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Commit I'm part of Post A Day 2017
A Box of Marbled Paper
My mother is a talented artist and has experimented in many different mediums over the years. One of my favourites is paper and only yesterday I was thumbing through some paper marbling she did for me last year. At the…
Endless Energy
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
Don’t Take Your Freedoms For Granted
When I first came to the Philippines three years ago I thought it would be a great idea to blog about the issues I was witnessing here. Typhoon Yolanda had just happened and there was a lot of talk about…
Ice-on-a-Rope
There is alway a little bit of comedy to be had in a large block of ice being strapped to a tricycle or rickshaw or tethered by a narrow rope. Particularly when these huge ice blocks aren't hand carved from…
Reusing the Bottle
Sitting in a bamboo stall drinking soft-drink out of a glass bottle by the Philippine roadside is like an adventure. It's oppressively hot and noisy and the overcrowded buses and trucks and tricycles dragging bamboo stems three times their length…
Where Will I Focus?
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts who I am is not a broken total I am the whole © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Total Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus I'm part of Post A Day…
The Mental Health Section
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…
Men in Trucks
Having worked for so many years as a manager in charge of Workplace Safety my heart always goes out to the men, women and sadly children who have no choice but to accept hazardous working conditions. Just look (in the video…
Fiction Flowers
this scribbled blossom I must have dreamed of triffids in a dusty book © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Blossom and Create I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Red Dirt Floor
bamboo walls don't keep out the rain puncture marks © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Puncture I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Unknown Artists
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…
Celadon
grey, green celadon forest of tiny leaf fronds taper pink entrails © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Taper I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The First Boy in His Family to Finish School
A very excited Jerry started grade 3 last week, an opportunity denied to most of his brother's and sisters. This is particularly poignant today on World Day Against Child Labour. Like the other 2.1 million+ Filipino kids already working, Jerry's…
The Red Sea
blood moon the tides divided island to island © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Control I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Dividing Lines
heavy concrete wall dissects mine from neighbour's mine except a red hibiscus © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Farce I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Street Paint Eyes
street paint eyes broken bamboo bits hang like teeth © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Buff I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Reaching
mud garden footprint old bottles stem a bright rose gentleness reaching © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Tender I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Our Oceans, Our Future
World Oceans Day! Blissfully unaware, of what we've done. © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Crisp #WorldOceansDay #WorldOceansDay2017 #OurOceansOurFuture I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The Moon’s Final Polish
squatting over a mud puddle catch the moon © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Polish I'm part of Post A Day 2017
How do I say friend in a single photograph?
Attending mass at the Shrine of Agtalin on the first Saturday of the month is a religious tradition practiced by thousands in the Capiz and Iloilo provinces of the Philippines. The Shrine of Agtalin is located in Pilar, Capiz (Philippines).
Back to School
More than two months of summer vacation ended yesterday as Jerry trotted off to class in his school uniform and shiny new school shoes. He was super excited. Part of the excitement is being allowed to get his own tricycle…
Brassy
upright all the day sun-burned pink and pale, orange hibiscus flower © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Brassy I'm part of Post A Day 2017
The City Speaks
© 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Radiate I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Surviving the Trip
Whenever Jerry and I are riding the highway in a tricycle I do have the odd morbid thought about whether we will survive the trip. Tricycles are great for photographs, the scenery is so close you can literally touch it.…
Storm
storm's precipice monsoon strikes the mountain evanescent © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine This poem was published in 50 Haikus (Volume 1, Issue 11) a literary journal featuring only Haiku poetry in open form. Daily Post: Precipice Weekly Photo Challenge:Evanescent I'm part…
Expanding the Reach of My Blog
UPDATE 19 June 2019: this is no longer an appropriate SEO method and is not approved by Google. Using it may actually damage your SEO efforts. I have already deleted the reciprocal links off my website. Mel.
Banana Blossom
ripened bract unfolds her music, line and textures dance inflorescence © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Impression
Collaboration
layers of rain, greened spent leaves over damp soil (earth's) collaboration © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Collaboration I'm part of Post A Day 2017
Unmoored
adrift in the wash bucket he climbed my arm unmoored © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Adrift and Unmoored
Qualm
oh there once was a girl called Miss Vine who could hang like a thread from a power-line she hung there avariciously gobbling free electricity until someone pulled the wool from the twine © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Qualm and Descend
Jackfruit
every market corner stained with your pungent odour ma'am! you not like this? © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Notorious
Endearing Moments of Hospitality
One thing I really love about Philippine culture is their commitment to hospitality and helping strangers. Here's a recent example (about 30 minutes ago in fact). Expecting to buy drinking water from my usual small store, I scramble out of…
Final
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.…
Pursue
fresh fish shine under market light a living © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Pursue
Beside the Fancy Shopping Mall
twisting bamboo maze rickety walkway stumbles sodden, someone's house © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Prompt: Maze
Pieces of Pink
random memories fairy floss, flowers, kids, poo all my year in pink © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Pink
And then, suddenly, her dream changed
© 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Better I was in a dark depression when I wrote this découpé poem back in 2014: it felt nice to edit it today and make it a little bit better. At the time I…
Ephemeral
summer tides fall little friends an island weekend © 2017 Melinda J. Irvine Daily Post: Temporary
A Simple Island Life
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…