Poems: Today was a good day…

Books & Poetry

This week’s Poet’s Corner features two poems by SA poet and artist Oliver Mills, the author of several published books including I am Wolf and My Gold Journey.

Wednesday August 03, 2022

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'Seascape' (detail), by Oliver Mills, acrylic paint, texture gel, crushed bark on canvas. (See full painting below.)

A Good Day

No distress, no pain.

Some days are easier
to walk, to sit, to balance
to move my head around.

Today I went for a walk
at Linear Park,
and felt the breeze on my face.

My head was clear
of cloudiness and fogginess
and fizziness.

Today was a good day.

Demolishing the Oats

Word of the Day: Demolish.

I demolished my oats

I feel well today
I went outside under the patio
I feel confident
I feel positive

I have an idea…

Three things to be grateful for…

My head feels clear
I can concentrate
I fought off statues.

Oliver Mills is an Adelaide-based poet and artist living with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and vision impairment. His work has appeared in ‘Westerly’, ‘Australian Poetry Journal’, ‘The Crow’, and ‘Growing Up Disabled in Australia’. He has received a number of grants from the Richard Llewellyn Deaf and Disability Arts Trust, and is currently working on a fifth collection of poems that reflect his day to day life. Oliver has his website at www.oliverschoice.net.

Oliver Mills’ Seascape: ‘I love working with acrylics, charcoal, crayons and textures.’

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.

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<h1>Poems: Today was a good day…</h1>

<p><p>This week’s Poet’s Corner features two poems by SA poet and artist Oliver Mills, the author of several published books including <em>I am Wolf</em> and <em>My Gold Journey</em>.</p>
</p>
																		<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address>
											
							<h2><a href="#a-good-day" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="a-good-day"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a><strong>A Good Day</strong></h2>
<p>No distress, no pain.</p>
<p>Some days are easier<br />
to walk, to sit, to balance<br />
to move my head around.</p>
<p>Today I went for a walk<br />
at Linear Park,<br />
and felt the breeze on my face.</p>
<p>My head was clear<br />
of cloudiness and fogginess<br />
and fizziness.</p>
<p>Today was a good day.</p>
<h2><a href="#demolishing-the-oats" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="demolishing-the-oats"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a><strong>Demolishing the Oats</strong></h2>
<p>Word of the Day: Demolish.</p>
<p>I demolished my oats</p>
<p>I feel well today<br />
I went outside under the patio<br />
I feel confident<br />
I feel positive</p>
<p>I have an idea…</p>
<p>Three things to be grateful for…</p>
<p>My head feels clear<br />
I can concentrate<br />
I fought off statues.</p>
<p><strong><em>Oliver Mills</em></strong><em> is an Adelaide-based poet and artist living with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and vision impairment. His work has appeared in ‘Westerly’, ‘Australian Poetry Journal’, ‘The Crow’, and ‘Growing Up Disabled in Australia’. He has received a number of grants from the Richard Llewellyn Deaf and Disability Arts Trust, and is currently working on a fifth collection of poems that reflect his day to day life. Oliver has his website at </em><a href="http://www.oliverschoice.net"><em>www.oliverschoice.net</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<div id="attachment_368894" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-368894" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-368894 size-full" src="https://indaily.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Seascape-uncropped-by-Oliver-Mills.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="726" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-368894" class="wp-caption-text">Oliver Mills’ <em>Seascape</em>: ‘I love working with acrylics, charcoal, crayons and textures.’</p>
</div>
<h5><a href="#readers-original-and-unpublished-poems-of-up-to-40-lines-can-be-emailed-with-postal-address-to-poetscornersolsticemedia-com-au-submissions-should-be-in-the-body-of-the-email-not-as-attac" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="readers-original-and-unpublished-poems-of-up-to-40-lines-can-be-emailed-with-postal-address-to-poetscornersolsticemedia-com-au-submissions-should-be-in-the-body-of-the-email-not-as-attac"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.</h5>
							<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank  rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2022/08/03/poems-today-was-a-good-day/" target=_blank  rel="canonical">original article</a>.</p>
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A Good Day

Demolishing the Oats

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.

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