Carlton kept in darkness slept, The streetlights out, the roadside swept With rain that afternoon and feet Bewildered by the night. The city never sleeps, they say, And anxious souls in search of day Pit-pattered while inside the homes Smart-phones took place of light. Commerce halted, leisure paused,Continue reading “Number Nine”
Tag Archives: Melbourne
Winter came
unnoticed; we thought it had arrived. The subtle lull of autumn tricked us with its need for cardigans and leaves aesthetically arranged Continue reading “Winter came”
Colour and Quiet
The ferris wheel was lit tonight and in the Melbourne sky it sparkled bright like cellophane; the stars hid in reply. The moon no longer blazed, fire-red, for rain had quenched the ground, and stillness sat with dancing light in quaint, harmonious sound. Why night mustContinue reading “Colour and Quiet”
Passacaglia in G Minor (After Les Murray’s “An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow”)
For those who have not encountered Les Murray’s poetry before, his work always strikes me with the way in which it blends profundity with earthiness. One of his most beautiful poems for me is his “An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow”, a description of a man crying in the middle of Sydney’s city centre, his tears somehowContinue reading “Passacaglia in G Minor (After Les Murray’s “An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow”)”
Morning Song (After Peter Steele’s “An Ordinary Evening In Kew”)
Time for my last poem for Peter Steele, this one based on his simple and delicate “An Ordinary Evening in Kew”. Less theological than the other poems I have chosen, this one is a wonderful tribute to the simple beauties of God’s gift of life. Morning Song (After “An Ordinary Evening in Kew”) The KensingtonContinue reading “Morning Song (After Peter Steele’s “An Ordinary Evening In Kew”)”
Autumn Soul
Poor leaves – gold before the sun is gone, heat-confused, your brothers green, fallen now before your time, the street lined thick with your mistake – leaves, lie still and wait. Last week summer ruled the street; spring creeps in, winter retreats. We mourned the heat, we dreamt the dreams that drove the leaves downContinue reading “Autumn Soul”
Jacaranda
Uncommonly strong, it stays purple, while elsewhere the street is lined with debris from seasons which the trees soon forgot. Confused fig-leaves turn golden, drop to the ground as rain gushes gutters and sunscreen, umbrellas, opposites, swap in uncertain hands – yet lilac and stoic at the end of my street Jacaranda declares it isContinue reading “Jacaranda”
Doggerel for the Federal Election in the Seat of Melbourne
Adam Bandt Shook my hand Quite a hand Had Adam Bandt If I had Not have planned How to vote, then Adam Bandt Would have won me with his hand (What a hand Had Adam Bandt). Cath Bowtell’s Quite nice as well She smiled at all And offered help But she did not shake myContinue reading “Doggerel for the Federal Election in the Seat of Melbourne”
Hope
Impossibly darting amidst the cars, an aquamarine balloon dances on Cemetery Road, Continue reading “Hope”
The Consolations of Writing 