The accidental writer by Tom Padula – 2008/9

It was February 1968 and I was sitting at one of the tables on the first floor of the Baillieu Library at the University of Melbourne, next ...

Author/Editor’s note

This second volume of Poetry My Friend presents to the

reader more poems on three new themes. These are Love and

Happiness, Nature and the Seasons, Sentiments and Life.

These themes have been an important part of my life. I can

only assume that this is also the case with you, the reader. After

all we are all born on the wings of love and are nurtured by

the search for happiness. The sensation of emotional well being

that love brings to us makes it worthwhile chasing after it. And

when you do find a soul mate, the person with whom you want

to share the present and the future, then the natural evolution of

two lives in one occurs. Together you will make history in

society.

This history is born out of having a family and progeny…

the generations of people who go through this life form the

chain of living that is our humanity. A transient critical mass of

people who renew themselves by procreating and by caring

first for the progeny and all that which surrounds our humanity.

This includes looking after our natural environment and being

aware of the seasons in order to maximize our food chain.

That’s the reason for including Nature and the Seasons as

the second chapter in this Poetry My Friend - Volume Two.

These poems are not exclusively related to the climatic realities

of the Seasons. The poet in me looked at the seasons as a part

of our own very life as individuals … sometimes we call these

‘seasons of life’ or the ‘phases’ of human life. Regardless of a

precise description, the mere thought of pondering over our

existence is what is important. The awareness of the cycle,

which we live in our space and time within eternity, leads us to

a more profound appreciation of what we can enjoy and

contribute to as individuals.

The ‘whole’ depends on the individual and the individual

lives within the ‘whole’ of his world. God and man, man and

God live side by side, depending on each other for their very

existence: for what is a lonely God in the Universe without the

company of mere mortals? Boredom could reign supreme

through Eternity. Therefore Life and Death, Beginning and End

become not just a human condition, but a principle for the

existence of Eternity!

This consideration has lead me into this next chapter called

‘Sentiments and Life.’ Being conscious and knowledgeable of

the variety of our sentiments is a challenge in itself. Sentiments

can be rational and irrational, good and bad, helpful or

destructive. They reflect our state of consciousness of what we

think, decide or do. This state of being is the conundrum of life

itself, the dichotomy of reality and spirituality, the communion

of ourselves within our body and soul!

Sentiments exist in us and all around us in others! To live

better is to know our sentiments. Sentiments and Life cannot be

separated. They exist together