I was honoured to have two of my poems selected for an exhibition in Parliament House Melbourne. Tobin Brothers run a beautiful exhibition every year highlighting works of art that deal with coping with grief. Here is one of my entries, specifically written for children who want to know where Nanna or Pop has gone.
The Dragonfly
by Michael Dillon
The beetle community lived in a pond, fed by a beautiful stream
They had no care in the world; their life was a living dream
But sometimes unhappiness came and left them feeling sad
When a beetle went and climbed the stem of a lily pad.
It happened often, but they never knew why or when
Only they knew, they would never ever see them again
One day a beetle felt a strong urge, instead of a walk
And he had to climb up that long green lily stalk.
He decided he wouldn’t leave forever, never stop
And come back and tell his friends just what was at the top
He climbed out of the water and the sun was just so warm
And had to take a nap as his body changed its form.
He turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with wings
Oh! The joy of flight, how the heart sings
He flew up into the sky, a balance of life and love
And he smiled down on the pond, as he viewed it from above.
He remembered his beetle friends, sad in their watery bed
Unfortunately the fact that I’m gone is what they dread
He wanted to tell them, that he never felt so much alive
But into the deep dark waters, he just could not dive.
His new form could not go back, into the water so deep
He couldn’t tell his friends; although they would weep
Then he knew that their time would someday come
And soon they would fly together, in the bright noon day sun.
The purity of life, all heartache now ended
His life had been rewarded, rather than ended.
I was honoured to have two of my poems selected for an exhibition in Parliament House Melbourne. Tobin Brothers run a beautiful exhibition every year highlighting works of art that deal with coping with grief.
Art for the Heart is an art exhibition that honours the use of creativity as a powerful source of healing and expression during the process of grief. It offers a space for people to tell their stories of loss, love & hope in new ways and to bring the community together to share the often hidden experiences of grief and depression.