Kaye Hanson

Kaye Hansonis a participant in Poetic Portraits, an intergenerational creative project to showcase the creative talent and diverse life experiences of different generations in Monash.

Kaye Hanson was a librarian, for 40 years she has been immersed in the written word.

She loves to find fun in the English language: she loves alliteration, rhythm and rhyme. She has been writing poetry for family events over many years, chronicling the narrative of life in verse.

Her love of language is reflected in song; she has been in many choirs and groups over her lifetime and enjoys singing to this day.

A circle of Life

The bracelet was hewn in a gentler age

A time when life’s pattern was easy to gauge

The wearer is a hopeful deb, the wearer is a bride

The wearer makes a home and entertains with pride

Candlelight reflects upon the glistening gold band

Life is easy, life is good, its progress neatly planned.

The bracelet goes inside a drawer as the wearer rears her brood

She serves the church, she helps the town, to community she’s glued

The wearer tires, the wearer fades the wearer grows not old

The memory of the wearer lives in the shining band of gold.

Letter to a younger self

My friend said ‘At school, you had beautiful hair’

Why did nobody tell me that when I was there

My Mum said ‘Lose weight, make the right choice’

Why didn’t she praise me for my fine singing voice

The crush for that school boy was never returned

Why didn’t I see that as just one more lesson learned

But later came love, for myself, from a man

I learned I can do it, I know who I am

With age comes awareness, with age comes reflection

With age comes the knowledge, there’s never perfection.