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Barbs Peterson

@barbsjp

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by @barbsjp

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12 days ago

Bad news trails after bad news like a caboose on a train
Like flies flock to roadkill
Like a hungry dog follows a hunter
Like flash floods follow rain

And where were you in the aftermath?
Were you posing for a photo opportunity
Or denying climate change
Were you too busy playing the blame-shifting game?

Or did you extend a hand under the rubble to pull someone out?
Bad luck doesn't come from the karma within
It hides amongst the shadows of sorrows, and poor decisions from selfish men.

Bad luck chooses its victims with indiscriminate care
But you, with your weak flashlight and flimsy rope?
You could still be the light at the end of that bleak tunnel.
You could get your fingernails dirty for hope. by @barbsjp

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12 days ago

How can it already be 25 years of the best memories with the best person?! My life and the world changed forever for the better 25 years ago on this day because of @a.ngiebabyy
Audacious, tenacious, smart, sharp, loving, kind, understanding, empathetic, fierce, bold, funny, intuitive, passionate, loved, celebrated, stubborn, supportive, endearing, beautiful outside and in, a true inspiration. The world is lucky to have you. Love you so much, today and every day xxx by @barbsjp

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a month ago

Returning to Poetry Live tomorrow night (Tuesday 1st Sept) with @dylanstoreynz . A couple of new songs from Dylan, as well as a couple of fresh covers + a mystery friend joining us for (hopefully) a few! Come along to Cafe 39 (39 Ponsonby Rd) at 7.30pm, enjoy some music and poetry & contribute a koha to the Red Cross Nepal Relief Fund xx by @barbsjp

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a month ago

SAYING GOODBYE

I had to pack your bags
I had to put all of the diaries into dusty storage.
You stood there, hand outstretched
Tears in your eyes
"I need you", you said.
"I'm here," I said.
I had listened to your stories, over and over, the same ones told in a child's trembling tone.
We had sat under the old oak tree, your favourite, and you climbed up the safe, sturdy branches and whispered down to me.
You had followed me like a loyal puppy, up mountains, to the edges of cliff faces and back.
You reminded me how I had to take care of you.
"It's time for you to go now," I said.
"Winter is over. The long train is coming."
I clutched your ticket in my hand.
I knew you were afraid to leave.
It is not the end. It is just a new beginning.
It is not the end. It is just a new beginning, I said.
You had shown me all your horrors.
I was sorry for when I had abandoned you to face them.
It is time for me now, I said, to find my home.
It is time for me now, I said, to find my future.

Happy National Poetry Day xx by @barbsjp

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a month ago

by @barbsjp

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3 months ago

by @barbsjp

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3 months ago

This Weds night at the Clare is shaping up to be a special one, as the Cave Jammers features a line-up of guest artists sharing some favourite songs (mostly that we’ve jammed in caves...) You can expect a bit of everything... folk, grunge-adjacent alt, beach rock & more.
Aaaaand opening up the night is the fabulous Catherine Walker playing some originals from upcoming debut album “Nurture” (available on usual streaming platforms under "The Low Low Music"!)
Come along at 8pm for some cosy soul-warming mid-week music x

https://www.facebook.com/share/17dCttx42b/ by @barbsjp

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3 months ago

Set times for tonight! I'm getting my best flannel on (let's be real I just love flannel 😆)
Can't wait to share some fave 90's songs and support a cause dear to me. I have lost too many good friends to the black dog and @lifelinenz listens to those in a dark headspace to help find a light at the end of the tunnel. Well worth supporting. Come have a sing along and enjoy reliving those grunge memories x taken in Ding Dong Lounge by @barbsjp

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4 months ago

Really stoked to be part of this lineup supporting @lifelinenz next Saturday night at @dingdongloungenz in the Main Bar from 7pm!
Sonic the Cat will perform stripped-back acoustic grunge and grunge-era songs that helped define my misunderstood-teenager years (and maybe yours...?)
Tickets are a very reasonable $10+ to support a life-saving cause.
Many thanks to Ding Dong Lounge for having us, and to Lifeline for all the mahi you do ❤️

https://www.dingdongloungenz.com/event-details/grunge-night-2 taken in Ding Dong Lounge by @barbsjp

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4 months ago

Every year I say to myself, I will not write another Autumn poem 🍁 by @barbsjp

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4 months ago

On a mother day like any other day, my only wish is enough time to get everything done, as the usual chores and life admin drag me begrudgingly towards an early sunset. I make a laughable attempt at "pampering" with some amount of cynicism, by finally utilising the face mask I was given for Christmas. "Anti-ageing" it says, because supposedly our life goal is to look like infants, like we can't even earn a single wrinkle. Supposedly we should want pink appliances instead of some kind of a conveyor belt that the thoughtless people of the world are put on, with some kind of "transformation station" in the middle of it to turn them into bearable human beings when they come out at the other end.
Love isn't always gifts and pampering, sometimes its turning your face away from minor irritations, or annoying your loved ones by asking if they've hydrated today or encouraging them not to ingest microplastics.
On a mother day like any other day, I walk down to the esplanade as usual, and a young man is singing out across the water, taking song requests from passersby. Further along the pathway a new father is cradling his baby against the wind. Our eyes meet and he gives me a tired smile, performing the traditional swaying shuffle dance to induce his swaddled child to fall magically into sleep.
Angie, Jordyn and I eat pizza in the comfort of the living room by candlelight and enjoy the gentle animation of "Flow". We still get emotional at certain scenes. Jordyn says "I love you Bāba" before going downstairs and it feels so thoughtful yet so familiar, even though I think it is the first time she has ever said it like that.
Yes, sometimes love is that, too ❤️ by @barbsjp

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5 months ago