16 Years (2005)
The Ashes loss to England in mid-2005 was a heartbreaking event in Australian cricket history after a 16-year reign (hence the title "16 Years") over the old foe. I took what the media were saying about Australia being nothing more than "Dad’s Army" and put a more positive spin (no pun intended!) on it.

58 (2003)
58 is the ODI shirt number of Brett Lee, my favourite cricket player. This was written after the 2003 Cricket World Cup, where he was Australia's top wicket-taker.

Another Stupid Love Song (2005)
Usually I hate clichéd love songs; you know the kind...those sugary-sweet pieces of slushy rubbish released by Z-list pop acts that are passed off as ballads. But despite this, sometimes you can't help writing one yourself...

Assassin (2004)
I don't know how many times I've edited this one - I've lost count! It's another one of my cricket-themed ones, dedicated to no player in particular.

Bad Songs (2005)
I was in a bit of a rut with my writing when I wrote this one. I was frustrated with the fact that almost everything I wrote wasn't good enough - I am a terrible perfectionist.

Before (2004)
The untimely ending of young love is a common theme in contemporary Gothic rock music, seen most prevalently in "My Last Breath" by Evanescence and "Join Me In Death" by HIM. I based this poem more on "My Last Breath" and added a cruel twist – the one dying in this poem is succumbing to a terminal illness, as seen in Line 9 - Before my life betrays itself.

Breakup (2005)
Speaks for itself really, doesn't it...it's about the breakdown of a relationship, which led to the breakup.

Dejection (2005)
The second Chappell-Hadlee Trophy cricket match between Australia and New Zealand in Wellington was nothing short of a disaster, especially for one player in particular, who had had his opposition under his spell just two short days ago, only to let it slip in the next game. I watched him get more and more dejected as he realised he just couldn’t win...this was written about two hours after the game.

Difference (2003)
This was written towards the end of 2003, when I was feeling very insecure. I've always hated being the same as everyone else - I like to be unique. Sometimes, though, you're made to feel as if being different is bad, and this is written for anyone who's ever felt that way.

Flying (2003)
I am a proud Australian cricket supporter, and this one was written a matter of days after Australia won the 2003 World Cup. Its original version had an extra verse but at the last minute I decided to remove it. It is told from three points of view – an impartial viewer; a proud supporter like me and finally the team themselves. The "unstoppable force which no one can slow" in Line 1 refers to Brett Lee, my favourite player.

Friday Night Blues (2006)
This one almost became "Saturday Morning Blues" because I wrote it extremelylate on a Friday night. I'd had a bad day and as I often do when I'm feeling down, I just wrote what came into my mind and "Friday Night Blues" was born. I finally finished it at 11.55pm on Friday May 19, 2006.

Further Than Zero (2004)
This one is dedicated to my then-favourite band, Linkin Park. The title "Further Than Zero" is metaphorical and refers to the way their music uplifts me when I am feeling as low as I can get, "at zero". Their music takes me higher, "further than zero".

Her Or Me? (2005)
This poem shares similar themes with "Song For A Broken Heart", and to a lesser extent "It's Over". It's about a girl who admires someone from afar, and is seeing him go through a bad time. She wants to make a move, but she won't until he lets go of the girl who is currently breaking his heart.

I Am... (2005)
In Year 10 we had to write a poem called "I Am". It was much more structured than what I was used to, and the lines began "I see, I hear, I touch, I feel, I taste, I think, I remember, But, I am." The poem was supposed to be happy and optimistic, talking about how proud you were of the person you had become. But, two years later, I came up with a version that went completely in the opposite direction...

I Am... (Part 2) (2005)
The sequel, obviously, to "I Am...". However, this second version is a lot more positive and optimistic than the first one. It's about love and the amazing things it can do to a person.

Inanimated (2004)
Originally titled "Welcome To My Life", this poem is about control, especially parental control. Being controlled would have to be up there with the worst things that can happen to a person.

In My Dreams (2005)
I can't remember much about writing this one...I think I was just on a roll. I wrote a lotof poems in 2005!

In The Head (2005)
The sister poem, if you like, to "Bad Songs". These two complement each other in a way, because they share a common theme – battling with every writer’s curse, namely "writer’s block". The irony of this one is that in writing a poem about how I couldn’t find any rhythm, I actually found a rhythm.

It's Over (2004)
This is a fun little story about a guy and a girl. The girl wants the guy but he has put up an invisible barrier around himself. When she tries to get close to him he backs away. In his heart he knows he wants her too, but he is playing a game with her, testing her persistence, and she thinks he is teasing her. It is only when he has nowhere left to hide from her that he drops his guard, smiles and draws her to him. She has her man and the game he was playing is over. The title "It’s Over" is normally associated with the breakdown of a relationship, but this one is about the beginning.

Like The Rose (2005)
I tried a Gothic kind of feel with this one. It’s about someone whose lover keeps doubting them; accusing them of things they haven’t done.

Live While I Sleep (2004)
This is another one about the untimely parting between two lovers, told from the point of view this time of "the one left behind". She had waited for so long for someone like him, they spent one beautiful night together...then he was taken from her.

No New Messages (2006)
I wrote this one for a very special friend of mine who I run an internet forum with. The two of us were feeling pretty down about the place due to a real lack of activity (and things haven't really improved since - as of 30 September, we have both left). I just wanted to write a poem about how I felt about the situation, and "No New Messages" is what resulted.

Number One (2005)
This poem was written in a totally different style to anything else I have written – it came out more like a rap, with less constant rhyming. It is taking a direct swipe at the talentless, manufactured artists dominating the charts today, those with clichéd lyrics and no integrity. It tells of how once, the good songs came out on top, but now the industry is dominated by the almighty dollar.

One Last Chance (2005)
Inspired in a way by the song "October" by Evanescence, this is about someone who's screwed up badly and is begging on their knees for one last chance - hence the title. This poem only just became a 2005 poem - I finished it on New Year's Eve, 2005.

Only One Way (2005)
In the lead-up to the 2005 Ashes series, Australia found themselves in a bit of a rut, losing four one-day games in a row, including one very embarrassing loss to Bangladesh. This was written before a crucial match against England, with the "absent lieutenant" referring to Andrew Symonds.

Our Saving Grace (2005)
This one was based on the events of a VB Series cricket match in early 2005. Australia were playing the West Indies and we were absolutely struggling…until the rain and thunderstorms came and saved us from what would have been an embarrassing defeat.

Overtaken (2004)
This was written during a very boring English class one afternoon in 2004. I count it as one of my favourites and it pretty much wrote itself; it needed almost no further editing.

Parallels (2005)
This was written in a fit of anger around the middle of 2005, when I was fighting a battle for my identity. Let me tell you, living with a mirror image of yourself, someone who tries to copy everything you do and say, is not a nice thing to have to experience.

Porcelain Figure (2005)
"Porcelain Figure" was written at a time when I was feeling very fragile and vulnerable. I felt like I was going to break at any second, like a porcelain figure being knocked off a shelf.

Prototype (2005)
If there’s one thing I hate in life, it’s when someone tries to shape you into the person they want you to be. "Prototype" is about one girl’s battle in refusing to fit the mould.

Scarred (2005)
I can’t remember much about writing this poem, apart from the fact that I must have been depressed...

Sick (2004)
This was written in late 2004, one Friday morning in Information Management class. I was scared because I thought we would have to move away and I was sick of people asking questions about it, hence the second and third verses.

So Much (2004)
I wrote this one about a friend of mine who lives on the other side of the world. I haven't seen her since I was ten, and I still really miss her sometimes.

Song For A Broken Heart (2005)
Even though this one isn't really a song as such, I decided to call it that because "Poem For A Broken Heart" sounded pretty crap! It's about someone who's just seen their friend come out of a bad relationship, and she wants to be the one to heal him - but only if he lets her.

Spirit's Tears (2004)
I was feeling rebellious the day I wrote this one – I was supposed to be revising for external exams but nothing seemed to get through to my bored head. I decided to take a break and with a piece of paper and a very blunt pencil (my trademark writing instrument of 2004), this one came together in about fifteen minutes. Its main theme is abuse – parental abuse of a young person, a massive problem in society.

Strangely Beautiful (Desire) (2004)
Have you ever admired someone from afar? Someone who’s a bit of an enigma, someone mysterious but someone so beautiful? Ever been frustrated by the fact that they’re oblivious to you and the way you feel about them?
This one’s for those kind of times.

This Bed (2006)
Another one about insomnia.

Two Little Words (2004)
This was written about an obsessive teacher aide we used to have in Geography class back in 2004. She was obsessed with talking about two little words – "exam revision".

Walk On By (2006)
As part of the preparation for our 3.1 English Creative Writing assignment, we read two short stories, "Meeting Kurt" (author unknown) and "Farewell To Maria" by Kapka Kassabova. These two short stories touched on similar themes to this poem and I wrote this sitting at a computer screen in the school library during my daily study period. It was a Friday, I recall, and it all came together in less than 15 minutes.

Will You? (2004)
There were two main inspirations in the writing of this poem - the songs "Missing" by Evanescence and "Breaking The Habit" by Linkin Park. Two of my favourite songs.

Wired (2005)
If there's one thing I hate, it's being woken up in the middle of the night by my cellphone going off. This was written after one particularly bad night.