I was sore and needed help to work out the knots in some of my tight muscles. I had booked an appointment with a reputable ayurvedic masseur. After coming home feeling much more relaxed this poem came to mind.

Transporting RelaxingMassage

I was on the table one day,

The oil warm, the hands strong,

The music played transported me in place and time,

I know not where.

The hands intuitively finding those knots,

Those tight spots,

Working that muscle in my shoulder, my neck,

I know not where.

The hands were smooth yet strong,

I felt relaxed as my body thirsted for this relaxation,

This attention to each muscle to smooth it out,

I know not where.

My thoughts took me away to a far of place,

Where time didn’t matter,

Where place was everywhere,

I know not where.

My parched skin drank in the scented oils,

My legs, my arms, feet and hands,

All felt the strong hands as they were being massaged,

I know not where.

And then bringing me out of my reverie,

The music that so happily transported me,

I know not where.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

21 February 2017

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I was in the back garden and saw a large green tree frog come out, and I took the opportunity to watch it for a short while. Soon after, this poem came to me.

Challenge of the Frog for change

A frog jumped into my life today,

It was green and cool to touch,

I noticed that it could leap quite some distance,

And landed with a plop.

Life is more than just leaping from one point to another,

And landing with a plop,

It is about keeping our cool,

It’s about how we can serve others.

Life for all is much more than we realise,

We can take big leaps of faith,

And trust that we will land aright,

Though this is not always the case as many of us have experienced.

My understandings of life changes, I change, I grow,

I see things anew,

I ask ‘have they always been there’,

But today is different, they are new to us … now.

I ask myself now, “what is the time”,

What needs still to be done,

Do I have time to leap just one more time,

Or shall I stay and enjoy the day?

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

21 February 2017

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This simple poem just came to me in a moment of reflection and meditation.

Life’s silver ribbon

Life may be likened to a thin silver ribbon in the wind,

We cannot see the end,

Life sparkles and flashes as it moves and dances,

We cannot see the end,

Joys and excitements are the remembered points,

We cannot see the end,

The people we meet, the challenges to overcome,

We cannot see the end,

The things we do in this life to leave our legacy,

We cannot see the end.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

16 February 2017

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This poem was written after a visit to Peru. I am sharing my appreciation of the land, the food and the people that live there. Our trip took us from Cusco to Machu Picchu and on to Lake Titicaca and down to the coast.

Poem to Pachamama

After journeying many hours from far off Australia to this land in the Americas of high mountain ranges and its ancient peoples, I give gratitude.

I give gratitude for this opportunity,

For the wisdom found,

For the sun that gives us warmth,

For the wind that blows,

For the earth that gives us all we need each day,

For the rain that brings us water to quench our thirst,

For the gentle breezes that cool us on those hot days,

For the food that nourishes us each day.

I give thanks to my capacity to undertake this spiritual journey,

For the lessons learnt and experiences undertaken,

For the beauty that can be seen in the mountains, valleys, and plains,

For the safe journey that each of us undertake to witness and experience this land.

For all the new learnings that I have found,

For all the new foods that I have tasted.

For the many new friends that I have made.

To experience high mountains where the air is so thin one needs to learn to breathe again,

To see the deep valleys, oh so deep, with water rushing down the gorges clear,

The long wide plains where grasses grow tall, or no grass at all,

This land of Lama and Alpaca, and where the mighty condor fly.

I give thanks to Pachamama for this opportunity to meet with and be with these gentle people.

To Pachatata for this safe journey,

To return again someday to the Alto Plano in Cusco and Ollantayatambo and learn more of this land and its people.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

13 Sept 2011 Peru

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A walk in the bush North of Brisbane inspired me to write this poem.

Bush Dreams

Walking through the bush today,

You know Mount Mee way,

You may have been there yourself someday,

T’was a special day indeed.

The wind in the tree tops high,

The dappled sun light through the trees,

Reaching only those favored leaves,

Revealing and highlighting hidden gifts of sight.

The tall straight trees,

reaching for the sky,

with bark so white and smooth,

not a blemish in my eye.

The path we tread with turns, winding down,

Inducing curiosity in the walker,

around each bend,

what will it be? what will it show?

Is it up or down, where will it go.

The sweet fragrance of the many blossoms,

strong it was, with such variety and colour,

yellow and orange, purple and green, silver and grey,

the bees and birds doing their duty each day.

At the water course, it flows slowly yet it is still,

To reflect, the day moves on,

The shadows grow longer,

T’was a special day indeed,

to be one with the bush up Mount Mee way.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

03 August 2011

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This poem was inspired after a walk in the park and giving thanks to the trees, the sky, the air we breathe, and all the other things that are often taken for granted in the West.

I am so Grateful

Here I sit comfortable and warm,

warming my toes by the open fire,

watching, watching the flames, dance across the embers,

the orange red glow of the embers,

I could watch those embers for hours,

and be lost in thought,

while it is giving up its warmth for me.

I am so grateful,

and feel so blessed,

Here I live in this beautiful land,

with home so warm and food aplenty,

I am so grateful,

and feel so blessed,

I have a garden that can grow most anything,

and I spare a thought for those with far less than me.

I have been, seen, visited and played on beaches,

 and islands,

and mountains so, so high,

rivers and lakes so, so clear,

always I am so, so grateful.

I have had joys and experiences that some would dream of,

I have travelled to far off lands,

and travelled this wide-brown land,

but always am so grateful to land back home,

and sit by the orange red glow of the home fire again.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

13 August 2010

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This poem was inspired soon after returning to my home in Brisbane at the time, about the experiences that had been absorbed while in Switzerland, and then the joy of coming home.

Coming Home

We left the country of snow peaked mountains and deep gorges,

And lush green plains, where cows munch their way through the day.

The lakes wide and deep mirroring the beauty of the mountains and the trees.

In this country many languages are spoken,

In some parts German, French, Italian and others Romansh,

Not to mention the languages of the many visitors from the South and East.

T’would cause an Aussie to turn his head.

Here back home one is all you need,

Something to be said of a universal language,

At least one that is known by all.

We leave this fair land with its castles and Counts,

That is steeped in centuries of culture and history,

And wing our way to the land down under, my island home,

With white beaches, coral reefs, and Australia as far as the eye can see.

We return home to find it hot and muggy,

Storms a brewing not too far,

Maybe it will ‘dump’,

Now that will be a cool change,

In my absence this past time,

Many things have changed but all is still the same.

The many friends that we left behind come to embrace our return,

And there are so many more we wish to see and tell stories of our experiences in that far off land,

Of mountains, snow peaks, deep gorges, and lush green plains.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

6 Nov 2007

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This poem was written soon after returning to Australia from a sojourn of over 12 months in Geneva, Switzerland.

This trip was undertaken to support my father-in-law who had undergone a heart-bypass operation. During the months that we were there we moved some 10 times, meaning that we were also able to experience a little of what that region of Switzerland and France had to offer. Things ranging from beautiful summers with meals in the garden to cold days of minus 12 degrees Celsius.

Also, found employment with the United Nations agencies based there in Geneva.

Farewell Geneva

Autumn has come again here in Switzerland, colours of blue, green, gold and red.

The blue of the sky, the green of the conifers and pines, the gold of the aspen, birch, elm and cedar, and the red of the ash and maple leaves just before they fall.

The mornings are cool and the afternoons temperate, and in the evening the city lights reflect in the stillness of the lake.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

We’ve been, seen, and tasted, driven over rugged craggy passes, and through lush green pasture with dairy cows grazing, while hearing the melodious sounds of their bells.

The high mountain views and clear blue lakes that go on as far as the eye can see.

And oh, the cheeses such variety and delicate tastes that words cannot describe.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

The people: white, black, yellow and tan are everywhere, to be seen in costumes un-associated with this local scene.

The local, the worker, the beggar, the tourist, they go about their daily tasks with cares and woes that only they know.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

Of the people that I have met here, from TEN, ILO, ICF, UNCTAD, WMO, WHO, and the Baha’is.

There are a special few with whom we share a very special bond.

We have laughed and cried and shared experiences.

I will be saddened to leave their good company, and they know who they are.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

The traffic here has given way to busses, bikes and scooters, as the distances are near and transport is inexpensive.

The dense population live in buildings rising from the street some eight floors, with construction styles that span at least five centuries.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

And now my time here in Geneva town has come to an end, we have been, seen, tasted and experienced this beautiful country.

I have packed my swag, and said my farewells, soon to return to the country of my birth.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

Here to start a new project, a new adventure, who knows where this new road will take us, and who will share this journey at our side.

I am sure that there will be new experiences and learnings along the way.

I look forward to the challenge this new experience brings, with my life-partner Briar, at my side.

And the crystal-clear rivers keep on flowing, down the mountain to the lakes and onward to the sea.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

5 Oct 2007

Revised 7 Jan 2008

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This poem was written with my mother in mind after a visit with her. We would often talk about places she had visited. Often her artistic side would come out to discuss the view through the window in the morning when the dew hangs in the tree, and the sun shining through openings in the canopy, or the view of the pathway and how it secrets the viewer from what lies beyond. From these thoughts and other sharing this is what came to mind.

Happy Memories

Beautiful Days

Wonderful Moments

Special Times with a Loved One

Mountains that each of us have Climbed

Rivers and seas that I have crossed

All that I have learnt and experienced    in this mortal life

These are the times that I think back about and in my own time say,

My life was full

I ask myself from time to time

Where will my next journey take me

Who will I meet

What will I learn

WOW

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

13 July 2007

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I wrote this poem in 1986 when I was living in Israel while serving at the Baha’i World Centre. I was there volunteering for a 30-month period. During this time, I had the bounty of setting foot on some of the most holy places in the world. Memories that will serve me for my life and beyond.

Coming Together

Somewhere, … over the rainbow

Is where I’m meant to be,

Somewhere, … my love will find thee.

Our love will grow,

And we will show,

The whole world, we’re meant to be together.

For a wish like this,

is an awesome wish,

A wish that is meant till the end and beyond.

For our love will grow,

as our needs will show,

To be as one together.

So much has happened,

to each of us, to know,

that we can only grow, together.

Oh my Lord,

If we could only know,

We would be, Together.

Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio

Wednesday 2 July 1986

8pm Haifa Israel (Summertime)

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