Busybird Publishing Open Mic Night #121 Story and Never Enough Poem

By Sue Ellson

On Wednesday 17 June 2026, I attended the Busybird Publishing Open Mic Night #121 (my seventh appearance) and shared a short story about my recent poetry writing getaway to Warragul and read out my poem ‘Never Enough‘

I started with a thank you to Les Zig and Kev Howlett for the opportunity to present.

I mentioned how I have had a writing project since 2016 and haven’t been away to write since 2019. How the best year of my life was 2016 when I wrote, edited, published and launched three 80,000 word books in nine months. How I had the best day of my life in 2019 when I launched my fourth book and then launched my fifth book online in 2020 and 2023.

I discussed the writing process I went through over the Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Warragul and how I nearly gave up, but since returning to Melbourne, had started things moving again.

I then read out the poem ‘Never Enough.’

Transcript

Thank you, Les and Kev. I know I’ve learned I have to say Les first now, so I’ll do that. Um, I’m going to take a leaf out of Laurie’s book. Les only. Okay, I’ll keep getting it wrong. Um, I just wanted to share a bit of a story and I’m wondering how many people here in the room have a writing project they haven’t finished?

Yeah, I thought so.

So, I thought you might be able to relate a little to my story. So back in 2016, I had the best year of my life when I published three 80,000 word books in nine months and I wrote and published and launched. So it was really the best year of my life.

And then in 2019 I had the best day of my life and I launched my fourth book.

And then in 2020 I launched a book online because I hadn’t printed it, and then by the time I wanted to launch it I had to actually rewrite it because so many things had changed on LinkedIn by then, so, I had to rewrite it.

So, I hadn’t been away to do some writing since 2019 and I got a bee in my bonnet about four weeks ago and thought the only way I’m going to get to these poetry books I decided to write is if I go away again.

So, I booked an Airbnb in Warragul, which is very easy to get to in Melbourne, and I took my computer and my laptop and all the folders and all the things I’d compiled and I woke up on the on the Saturday morning with a headache and I thought, “Oh my god, I finally got away and I’ve got a headache. Like, you know, this is not happening.”

So, I started sorting all of my papers and to my horror, most of the poems I’d written I put in the unpublished poems folder.

They were not good enough because I had started this project back in 2016 and I’ve grown and changed and I’ve published all these other poems on my website and yet these poems didn’t cut the mustard and I realised at best they could be described as journal entries, you know, and I’m a person who doesn’t want to write a journal, but that’s kind of what the poems were.

So anyway I got to Sunday and I’d already got these categories that I was going to put them in and that didn’t work. So then I wrote another eight categories and that didn’t work. And then I rang a friend on Sunday night. She said, “Why are you doing this?” And I thought, “Oh my god, I should just throw the whole thing out.”

And then I got to Monday and then I thought, “I’m just going to put them in the order that’s right for me. I’m just going to do what my voice says.”

And since I’ve got back, I’ve decided on a launch date. I’ve made inquiries to venues. I’ve started designing book covers, and I’m going to book the retreat again so that I can go back.

But last Saturday night, I wrote another poem and I was really happy with it. So, I thought I’d share that, and this comes from an unusual inspiration.

I was at a networking event and this financial advisor said to me that there’s a lot of people who have a lot of money in assets and wealth, but they still don’t think they have enough. And he can’t convince them that they’ve got enough.

So this is called Never Enough.

You strive to collect your favorite stuff, but when you have it, do you say enough?

You increase your wealth in any way possible, but if you lose your health, was it worth the trouble?

You plot and scheme to receive applause, but how do you cope behind silent doors?

You feast and enjoy food and drink to excess, but how do you feel later? Is it more or less?

Could you find a way to truly be fulfilled with less than enough and still be thrilled?

Because if enough is never enough, life can become jaded and rough.

Pause and reflect on everything wonderful, for then you will learn how to be grateful.

You may even find you have something to share. And then enough will never be rare.

Really wonderful lesson in the evolution of writing. How, you know, what we did yesterday doesn’t seem quite as good as what we’re doing today and how we’re always striving to be better versions of ourselves and write better things.

It becomes an unending pursuit. You know, it’s really dangerous in some ways because you can never reach that aspiration. So sometimes you just got to get to the point where you go, I think this is as good as I’m going to get it for now.

Correct.

And in two years from now, I should never look at it again.

See my previous Busybird Publishing Open Mic Nights #102 here, #103 here, #105 here, #106 here, #108 here and #117 here.

You can also see Laurie Smale’s appearance on the same night here.

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