Friday, March 27, 2009

The Tide of Life

The life of man can be explained, it seems
as being similar to a tide and the sea.
A parallel can be drawn, this means,
between the oceans of the world, and me.

Life starts out with the infant's first breath
As the new tide starts with water's turn
Building life slowly so far from death
Experience and knowledge, so much to learn

With boundless enthusiasm of the child,
Tide rushes into each entrance and shore.
Investigating and analysing each feature un-filed.
Swirling and twirling, searching for more.

Turbulence and trauma of the growing inrush,
Restless adolescence changing the score.
Rationality and reason abandoned, faces aflush.
Waves, bursting and breaking over rocky shores.

Quietly flowing into spaces, seeking involvement.
Adulthood arrives providing welcome relief.
Nature and relationships and total commitment
Expanses and environs filling, contacts less brief.

Romance and marriage top the agenda
Hugging the earth with love's sweet embrace
Clinging to each shoreline, feature of splendour
Wherever the seawaters swirl, rip and race

With maturity comes Man's ultimate perfection
The tide is now high and peaks at its crest
Traffic is busy, ships and boats coming and going
Swimmers and surfers there's no time to rest.

Life seems so busy with tide at high levels
Endless responsibilities pulling all ways.
Constant demand and pressure dishevels
No sign of relief at this time of day.

With the tide turning to the outward repletion,
Time to reflect on achievements now past.
Retracting waters revealing jobs completion.
Exposing the tide's efforts, time racing so fast.

The end is in view, tide ready to change
Time to review the efforts now done
A measure of tide's success to arrange
How does it justify the race it has run?

Life cycle is completed and now looking back
All that is left of our tides mighty furore
Is a single line printed in a used Almanac
And smooth damp sand on a forgotten shore.

So think about your one and only life tide
And how you will live it on god's sweet earth
Don't waste a minute of the gift of the ride
And think on how you will judge life's worth.

By Peter Hurst

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

WITS NoWriMo - Plotting & Research

If you're participating in the WITS NoWriMo challenge in April (or even if you're not), the following links to articles on plotting and research might prove useful:

Remember Witties, if you would like to participate in WITS NoWriMo your time is running out to sign up. Just send an email to witsnq@gmail.com or have a chat to us at Wednesdays meeting.

10th Anniversary National Playwright Competition 2009

Are you a budding playwright? Dust off that old play you've had sitting in your bottom drawer or whip up a new one, because the Boroondara Theatre Company wants you to enter their National Playwright Competition.
There are no restrictions on topic, theme, gender or basis of play and entries can be lodged at any time up until the 30th June 2009.
Go to the Baroonda Theatre Company website for more information.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

LiNQ 40th Anniversary Celebrations

The James Cook University, School of Arts and Social Sciences invites you to attend the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of the Literature in North Queensland (LiNQ) journal.

March 20th, 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Click on the image above for more information or email lindsay.simpson@jcu.edu.au

Monday, March 9, 2009

Meet the President

A bi-monthly report from WITS President Lori Hurst

Some dedicated souls no doubt wrote on regardless during the Christmas break, but for the rest of us mere mortals our first WITS meeting for the year was an oasis, after the barren weeks of non-writing.

Kerry Ashwin & Nikesh Muralli gave us a kick start with a mini workshop on the nuts & bolts of writing, editing & publishing. Writer’s groups offer a good dose of reinforcement, motivation, encouragement & inspiration but then each of us as individuals has to provide the dedication.

Our thanks to Justine Wilkinson from Townsville City Council, for making the time to...

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