Licorice Icecream: Poems and Stories You Can Taste

By Lorraine Wheeldon

Liquorice IceCream was inspired by my friends who make it. They make it on-farm, and all the ingredients are natural and authentic. That has inspired me to also be natural and authentic, and I hope the five chapters Naturally, Personally, Intimately, Exactly, and Finally, as well as the five short stories demonstrate that.

I have been in medical practice for a very long time, and my patients have been a wonderful source of inspiration to me. The staff at LaTrobe University have also been supportive and helpful, and to whom I say a very big thank you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Sep 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499022575

Lorraine Wheeldon

Dr. Lorraine Wheeldon is a country doctor who enjoys writing poetry and short stories. She has four children and enjoys travel and gardening.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Lorraine Wheeldon.

Library of Congress Control Number:                  2014917316

ISBN:                     Hardcover                      978-1-4990-2272-8

                                Softcover                       978-1-4990-2267-4

                                eBook                             978-1-4990-2257-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 10/21/2014

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

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Contents

Chapter One Naturally

Liquorice Ice Cream

Butterfly

Harvest

Herefords

Timber

Lambs

Friesians

Rain

Winter

Golden Honey

Spring

Locked In

Chapter Two Personally

Lovers

Mother

Wedding

Fly In, Fly Out

Twenty-One

Grey Nomad

Interior Design

A Secret Love

Family

Homecoming

Love

Busted

Chapter Three Intimately

Aspiration

First Child

Smoker

Privilege

Insomnia

Doctor

Bad Back

Depression

Our Diet

Cry

Group A

Fishy

Chocolate

Chapter Four Exactly

In Time

Student

Tax

Torch

Soldier

Japan

Winter’s Wonderland

Conversation

Boutique

Raid

Politics

Whitsunday Holiday

Raided

Chapter Five Finally

Swing

Snow Season

Haiku

Solar Panels

Refugee

Neighbour

Mac

Driving

Potbelly Stove

Nature

Grandparent

Rescued

Chapter One

Naturally

Liquorice Ice Cream

Butterfly

Harvest

Herefords

Timber

Lambs

Friesians

Rain

Winter

Golden Honey

Spring

Locked In

Liquorice Ice Cream

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Liquorice ice cream is black and tart

little white pot a delightful surprise

tasty and different right from the start

imagination, persistence, and exercise

welcomed overseas with a sigh

aspirational product set to rise

popularity stakes soaring high

simple farm-based enterprise

lots of other tastes to suck

rhubarb, mango, and ginger

something different you’re in luck

coconut, chocolate, berry as well

as a delicious ice cream from

contented cows, a rural idyll

entrepreneurial family has overcome

difficulties, now all forgotten

success, reward, not misbegotten

Butterfly

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Does a caterpillar ever know

it will become a butterfly

chomping away on so many leaves

does it ever wonder why

it has so many legs and

is so fat and roly-poly

a chrysalis must be so tight

and stifling; bursting out a terror

and then to stretch such

wonderful wings to dry

and fly away without a tremor

Harvest

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The trains are running, the cane is high

the feather-tops all stand up straight

blazing fires light up the night sky

rats, snakes, and vermin all run out

giant harvesters munching and crunching

through fields, chopped cane piled high

in big wire cages, small engines hauling

a long line of baskets, rolling into the mill

the pounding noise rending the winter quiet

belching smoke and steam into warm winter air

sugar cane is a must, it’s like sticky gold

but it’s dirty to touch and hot to hold

the harvest essential, the economy booming

jobs for all, no recession looming

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Herefords

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Down by the river, the grass is long

the Herefords are there, big and strong

red-brown rumps white socks and faces

thick winter coats patterned in places

heads down, enjoying sweet winter feed

putting on bulk, extra weight for the breed

prices are good for the grazier and

plenty of rain, lots of hay in hand

the future looks good, the summer should be

another successful year for all to see

Timber

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I’ve worked with timber all my life

started out with a chainsaw cutting cedar

thinned the forests, stayed out of strife

lots of danger falling a tree so spectacular

huge respect ’twixt man, tree and forest

no room for complacency, need eyes behind.

Tall trees, hard wood, hundreds of years

spent making colour, strength, flexibility of kind.

Ironbark, paperbark, blue gum, cypress, and ash

oak, fig, spotted gum, wattle, and bottlebrush

but now I’m old with twisted fingers, all bent,

weak back and legs; all gone to the timber

so now with lathe and chisel my days are spent

turning, whittling, lovingly handling any number

of whatever pieces of wood I can glean

from plantations, or timbers saved and clean.

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Lambs

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Frisky white lambs staying close by

mother ewe, looking bossy but proud

long tails, tight curls, so excitingly

social, so many lambs to play around

probably destined for live export trade.

Vast open spaces, productivity displayed

a reality of today’s agribusiness.

Prosperity so fortunate in excess.

But frisky white lambs

don’t know any of this.

They run and