I am my Mother's daughter

As another Mother's Day approaches, it never gets any easier. 2016 was the first Mother's Day I could not spend with my Mum, having lost her at 7.05pm 1st April that year. Every year I go looking for one of the many poems that I had written for her over 6-7 years of caring for her. Poems written in waiting rooms in hospitals as she underwent surgery, poems written on the porch as she rested, poems scribbled as she lay in ICU and I prayed for her recovery, poems written as I sat with her for 9 long days and nights until she left us. So many poems. I still cannot read them without starting to cry so instead I want to honour her by sharing an interview I did about Scribblings of a Scattered Mind (SOASM).

My mother could play piano by ear and it was amazing! I could never play by ear but I did learn to play. My mother would sing strange ditties as she wandered about the house and she would write quotes and poems that I would find in exercise books. Some about her Mother who she loved dearly; others about loss, a subject she had so much experience with; others about grief and others about being strong, resilient and determined. And then little quotes that came from a very strange sense of humour. I am my Mother's daughter!

WHO IS SOASM?

What a big question this is? Conventionally I would be a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, an ice skater, a pianist, a lover of nature, a believer in energies, truth and love, a dreamer, a collector of quotes .. ah, the list could go on. At this point in my life though I could not help but think of what Rumi wrote: "Late, by myself, in the boat of myself, no light and no land anywhere, cloud cover thick; I try to stay just above the surface, yet I’m already under and living within the ocean". I feel a deep affinity with the ocean; I find her magical no matter whether she is calm, slightly energetic or in a full on mood. She is always interesting and inspiring and I hold onto my dream of one day having a shack by the sea and to write.

WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?

I was raised in the inner suburb of Mt Lawley, Perth, Western Australia in my favourite house of all time. I can still see every room, every door, every section of the garden and a piece of my heart will always be there. At around 25 years of age I was transferred with my work to Melbourne, Victoria. I consider Australia a beautiful country and feel completely blessed to live here.

WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?

Ah, what a colourful career history I have had, ranging from a Bank Manager to a Television Commercial & Video Producer to a Business Manager to selling Real Estate; I think I may have been a gypsy in a previous life.

WHAT IS/ARE YOUR INSPIRATION/S AND/OR MOTIVATION/S IN WRITING?

I would have to say nature, love, grief, loss and simply life are my inspiration. As for motivation, that is easy. It is purely the love of putting pen to paper and the absolutely indescribable feeling I get during the process. It is like entering another time, another place. It is as if I do not even think about it, as if something from deep inside me is merely using me as a tool to speak to others. And I wonder why some find me odd? ha ha ha

WHERE DO YOU USUALLY WRITE?

Anywhere. I can be walking down the street and a poem will start to write itself and I will stop and pull out my exercise book and pen that I always carry with me. It doesn't matter where I stop - on a park bench, on the side of the road, at a street cafe, by the lake, on my porch but now that I think about it, it is nearly always outside in the fresh air with the birds in the background and the breeze caressing my face.

CAN YOU TELL US YOUR STATE OF MIND/SOUL WHILE WRITING?

Absolutely! I am at peace. No matter whether I am writing something that some may consider dark, or if it is a romantic piece, I am always at peace with my pad and pen.

WHERE DOES LITERATURE STAND ACCORDING TO YOU IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD? AND WHERE DOES YOUR WRITING STAND AMONG ALL THE OTHER WRITING FORMATS?

Literature will always be an important part of our culture, no matter the times. It may change in the way it is presented, it may change style but we will always want to lose ourselves in another's adventure, learn, grow, be inspired and literature always provides.

As for where does my writing stand amidst other formats, I have no idea. I write because I love to write. I have no formal training and have never claimed to be a writer but feel blessed to have been told that my writing touches and resonates. What a gift that is for me! Why would I question it? I would rather just feel grateful and continue to write.

CAN YOU PLEASE NAME 3 OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?

What a difficult question! There are so many but I will randomly pick three that spring to mind. I love Haruki Murakami and am so grateful to the friend that first introduced me to Norwegian Wood. One of the most pleasurable and amusing books I have ever read is "Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore. I had tears of laughter streaming down my face and I can honestly say I have never experienced that with a book before. This book was gifted to me from a friend in the United States and I will treasure it always. And, of course, I love Rumi. But there are so many more, including so many yet to be published writers that I continue to discover thanks to today's technology.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT WRITING?

I am a very simple person and I truly do enjoy the simple pleasures of life. I love my walks around the river or the lake, along the beach when I get the chance, and I am usually found taking happy snaps of nature. I find enjoyment through reading, gardening, animals, watching a good comedy series or simply sitting at a street cafe enjoying a long black coffee and people watching. I like to sit on my balcony in awe of a sunrise or sunset and "just be". As I said, I am a very simple person.

IS THERE A BIG CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE WRITING HAS BROUGHT?

The biggest and the most important changes in my life. Writing has answered many questions, it has opened so many closed doors within myself. Writing has taught me so much about myself and what I have to offer to others; it has introduced me to artists, photographers, musicians, kind hearted souls and some of the most passionate and loving people a person could ever hope to meet. I cannot imagine my life without writing, it would be an empty life indeed.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PUBLICATION PLANS AHEAD?

I will be publishing my second collection of poetry and photography and then a third at some stage. I want to write a book about a subject very close to my heart that is quite controversial with some so that sits on the back burner at the moment. It is a painful but extremely important subject to delve into so it may sit with me for quite some time. I have a number of ideas, it is trying to find the time that is the hardest part.

AND FINALLY; WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST/ADVISE TO INSPIRING WRITERS?

Just do it! Open that part of you that is scared to be seen, to be heard and let it breathe. Write from the heart. A quote from Barbara Kingsolver comes to mind:

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

And I just want to say thank you to the magazine that provided the opportunity to do this interview, just another fantastic gift afforded me because of my love of writing. Scribble on!

2021: RIP Mum, Loved with all my heart. Remembered, and dearly missed, this Mother's Day and every day.

Your daughter, Dianne xx

(c) Dianne Traynor, Scribblings of a Scattered Mind ~ Diantra