Melbourne Candid Series #1148 Bourke St Mall

 

On Bourke Street Mall where footsteps pass,
He sits alone on iron brass
A bearded man, both still and slow,
Eyes cast down where shadows grow.

His coffee cup rests in his hand,
No rush to sip, no firm demand.
The world moves by in steady stream,
While he dissolves into a dream.

The hum of trams, the chatter near,
All fold into a silence clear.
As if the ground could speak below,
He listens deep to what he knows.

No sign, no plea, no spoken word,
Just thoughts that flutter, faint, unheard.
A quiet figure none may see
But in his stillness, poetry.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 902

Melbourne Candid Series #1147 Bourke St Mall

 

Two men in singlets, legs outstretched,
In summer’s ease, their silence etched.
A bench off Bourke, a quiet fold,
Where city stories still unfold.

Their voices low, like rivers run,
Not loud with boast, nor seeking sun
But private words in open air,
A fleeting trust, unspoken care.

Their shorts are creased from hours sat still,
The world around them loud, yet chill.
And though the trams may clatter by,
Their space is calm beneath the sky.

A monochrome of time slowed down,
No need for stage, no mask, no crown
Just two old friends in midday light,
Their laughter soft, their bond held tight.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 901

Melbourne Candid Series #1146 Bourke St Mall

 

Off Bourke Street’s curve in silver light,
A man on wheels begins his flight
Helmeted, silent, e-bike hum,
A shadow in the city’s thrum.

Behind, beneath a brooding sky,
A woman dressed in black walks by.
Her hat, a moon of quiet grace,
No rush, no fear upon her face.

She holds a hand, a boy’s small frame,
His steps unsure, yet not the same
For anchored firm in her still pace,
He walks the world with gentle grace.

Monochrome moments, soft and wide,
Lives in motion, paths that glide.
No words exchanged, yet somehow known
Each stranger walking not alone.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 900

Melbourne Candid Series 1132 Bourke St Mall

 

Laughter on Bourke

He sat in sun, a man of years,
With laughter loud that chased the fears,
In sunglasses, his joy a flare
That split the noon with blazing care.

Beside him, quiet, his small young son,
A shadow short beneath the sun,
Looked up as if to catch the fire
That lit his father's brief desire.

The street around, a surging tide,
With trams and heels and time's long stride,
Yet in that pause the world stood still—
Just sun and blood, and love’s goodwill.

A city’s heart beat all around,
But sweeter was that human sound:
A father's laugh, deep-cut and real,
That spoke what mouths can’t always feel.

On Bourke they sat, mid noon’s wide sprawl,
Two lives adrift, yet held by all—
By sunlight, kinship, breath, and grace,
And joy that time cannot erase.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 886 This has been one of the top 10 favorite posted on my blog here

Melbourne Candid Series #1131 Bourke St Melb

 

(Same poem as yesterday)

A youth with mullet trailing wild,
A cap hung low, the city’s child,
Stood firm where footsteps throng and blur,
His violin his saboteur.

With rosined bow and eyes cast low,
He summoned tunes both fast and slow,
Each note a cry, a silver thread
Unspooling dreams the street had shed.

Behind him flowed the tram’s refrain,
Its bell a chime through smoke and rain,
While cars crawled past in tangled streams,
Oblivious to his stitched dreams.

He played not for applause or coin,
But for the world he might rejoin—
Where echoes rise through autumn's breath,
And songs outlive the hush of death.

Bourke watched in greys and neon hue,
As music flared and nightfall grew.
The crowd passed by, then circled round—
A boy, a bow, defying sound.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out 

Melbourne Candid Series #1130 Violin player on Bourke St Mall Melb

 

A youth with mullet trailing wild,
A cap hung low, the city’s child,
Stood firm where footsteps throng and blur,
His violin his saboteur.

With rosined bow and eyes cast low,
He summoned tunes both fast and slow,
Each note a cry, a silver thread
Unspooling dreams the street had shed.

Behind him flowed the tram’s refrain,
Its bell a chime through smoke and rain,
While cars crawled past in tangled streams,
Oblivious to his stitched dreams.

He played not for applause or coin,
But for the world he might rejoin—
Where echoes rise through autumn's breath,
And songs outlive the hush of death.

Bourke watched in greys and neon hue,
As music flared and nightfall grew.
The crowd passed by, then circled round—
A boy, a bow, defying sound.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 885

Melbourne Candid Series #1129 Bourke St Mall (Summer before winter this year)

 

A Lady on Bourke in Greying Light

Upon the cobbles of Bourke Street fair,
Where trams do hum through autumn air,
A lady passed in monochrome,
Her youth aglow though shades had grown.

She walked alone, yet not alone,
For in her ears sweet tunes had flown,
A Walkman played its whispered song,
A timeworn tape that sang along.

Her tresses curled like drifting flame,
Though black and white concealed her name,
She bore her spoils in papered grace,
From shops agleam in city’s face.

A bum bag slung with no pretense,
‘Twixt fashion’s flair and innocence,
She paused beneath the falling leaves,
As dusk drew in on gentle eves.

No winter yet, but chill in shade,
The light grew thin, yet undismayed,
She danced in step with music’s flow,
A fleeting ghost from long ago.

And though the years may swiftly pass,
Like tramlines threading panes of glass,
Still in that frame she softly stands—
A song, a stroll, two listening hands.

Sony A7RV 

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 884 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #1122 Bourke St Mall

 

On Bourke Street Mall where the city hums,
And midday light on pavement drums,
A young man stands with cap drawn low,
Beside an elder, moving slow.

She rests upon a striped bench, still,
Her hands upon the frame she fills—
A four-wheeled guide through time and pace,
While crowds pass by without a face.

He leans in close, a gentle grace,
Perhaps a word, perhaps embrace.
No need for praise or loud acclaim,
Just quiet care without a name.

Among the trams and hurried feet,
Two lives in stillness gently meet—
A moment soft, of silent art,
Drawn not in speech, but open heart.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 877 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #1094 Little Bourke St

 

An alley off of Little Bourke,
Where silence wraps the city's murk,
The night breathes low in amber hue,
Street lamps cast their solemn view.

Their golden halos gently fall
On cobblestones, worn smooth and small,
Each stone a story, soft and old,
Of boots and dreams, of hands grown cold.

Shadows stretch along the lane,
In quiet rhythm, soft as rain.
The city's hum is far, then near—
A breath, a step, a whisper clear.

Here secrets cling to brick and wall,
Where time forgets to move at all.
In Melbourne's heart, in hush and gleam,
The alley hums a half-lost dream.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 580

Melbourne Candid Series #1072 Little Bourke St China Town

 

A chef in white with blade in hand,
Moves swift as silk, precise and grand;
The cleaver sings, a steely hum,
As golden skin and flesh succumb.

The duck lies whole, its journey done,
Crisped by fire, by craft, by sun.
Each stroke reveals a secret lore—
Of banquet halls and emperors’ war.

Steam rises soft in evening air,
Spiced perfume drifting everywhere;
And down the lane, the watchers wait,
Drawn close by scent, by luck, by fate.

On Little Bourke, where old meets new,
Tradition carves the world in two.

Sony A7RV

FE 24mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 828

Melbourne Candid Series #1049 Little Bourke St

 

Down Little Bourke, mid city’s hum,
A man walks on, his fingers numb.
His hairline fades with time’s embrace,
Yet focus lights his solemn face.

Eyes fixed upon the glowing screen,
Unmoved by all the urban scene,
He drifts through crowds in silent zone,
A world away, yet not alone.

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check out Candid 805

Melbourne Candid Series #1021 Bourke St Mall

 

Upon the bustling city's lane,
Where melodies once soared in vain,
He strums no more by lantern's glow,
His tunes now lost where echoes go.

Bourke Street hums with weary tread,
Yet lacks the songs once widely spread.
The hollow wind, it hums alone—
A minstrel's voice now turned to stone.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 778

Melbourne Candid Series #1020 Bourke St Mall

 

With glass so wide and light so true,
It draws the gaze to what is due.
The world behind in softened grace,
While one stands sharp in time and space.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 777

Melbourne Candid Series #1019 Little Bourke St

 

Upon the path where none need heed,
No rushing wheels, no steely steed.
A young man walks with head bowed low,
His gaze entranced in screen-lit glow.

Behind him trail, in measured pace,
Two ladies lost in mirrored grace.
Through silent streets their footsteps fall,
Yet none look up—no glance at all.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 776

Melbourne Candid Series #1014 Bourke St Mall

 

Upon a bench in city’s thrall,
Just off the path of Bourke St Mall,
A crusted roll in hand so tight,
With flavors rich and pure delight.

The crunch, the taste, a midday treat,
With herbs and spice both fresh and sweet.
A simple feast, yet none compare,
To Banh Mi savored in the air.

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 771

Melbourne Candid Series #986 Bourke St Mall

 

This gentleman possesses a prominent abdominal girth akin to mine. Consequently, he is susceptible to metabolic syndrome. Additionally, he is yet another Melbourne resident attired in black.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 745

Melbourne Candid Series 985 Bourke St Mall

 

This middle-aged man walks a path of sorrow. It serves as a poignant reflection of our solitary venture into this world.

Sony A7RV

FE 135mm f1.8 GM

Check out Candid 744 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #931 Bourke St Mall

 

They are busy in their own chichats

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 690

Melbourne Candid Series #930 Bourke St Mall

 

Carrying booklets

Sony A7RV

FE 50mm f1.2 GM

Check out Candid 690 and FACE OFF

Melbourne Candid Series #903 Little Bourke St

 

An alley to chat on the phone

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

Check Candid 654