Coming Through Storm Clouds

i.
gulls kiss the clouds
and we walk the beach
afraid of the tide
the sky over
Point Danger sinks
into purple and black
 
ii.
coming through storm clouds
a butterfly surprises us
a survivor, perched on
a snapped branch
 
iii.
we drift apart
wet skin and sunscreen
coming through our storm
                                    flightless

long roads

This morning I took a trip over to the soon to be defunct 3lightsgallery. My mind has been craving haiku these last few days; their brevity, their clarity, their transformative power. And while haiku as a form is growing in popularity (if that is the right word?), the art still remains misunderstood by many and in terms [...]

small words

Today I came home to the pleasure of the two latest copies of The Lilliput Review, one of the coolest little magazines you could ever set your hands on and if you need proof, check out this gem from an earlier issue, currently posted on Issa’s Untidy Hut (the blog of The Lilliput Review)
    
      Voyeur
that [...]

Breathe

calm the breath                the ocean will calm
breath gathers itself in a comma
a comma informs the current
weaves panic into water
so calm will curl the rising wave
 
red as dusk               settling
this sun drowned lonely in the chest
whose white sand will purple later
will wear the wound I wear               
the panting wave
 
breathe hard
breathe quickly
breath in me sings                my lungs
the ocean surface  in [...]

Slow Breathing

Far out in the Pacific Ocean
a pod of whales head north, under a full moon.
Across the street, the neighbour’s house is full of insects.
And grouped in close formation
geckos take command of the windows
ready to advance.
Tonight, as the parties end
as the crowds turn out
the mosquitoes are at the skirts of the island
the hibiscus’ explode
my wife turns in [...]

In Silence

A day when only images speak.
Hardly a word worth hearing except a swirl in the water and the hush of jellyfish dancing on the incoming tide. Belly up like blue bells.
Hardly a sibilant among the gulls or the black faced terns pickaxing the perfect blue for mullet.
Except for a stingray moving from the camouflage of [...]

Last Tricks

The vet was careful
to place the tip of her needle
right on the swirl of golden
hair, in the centre of his thigh.
In the silence after the syringe
had been plunged, his eyes widened
for a second. We watched
an audience expecting tricks
and eventually he obliged
with a straightening of his crooked
back legs and a comedic
sideways head-tilt that went
too far. His [...]

Fallen Leaves

I step lightly over fallen leaves
bend down to gather them
between thumb and forefinger.
I carry them to the old pier
where I cast them into the river.
 
Some drift into the mangroves
some get drenched by waves from the ferry
others stick to the bow.
Still, I sail fallen leaves every day
hoping that one will reach you.
 
If you see a yellow [...]

Blisters & Milk

How you compose me, drunk.
I am the last poem of vodka
& you dance slowly to yourself.
Like a girl who’d steal a motor-
cycle, you undress. Blisters &
rouge. How as I kiss you
a feather of blood breaks
out on your neck. Hunger or
cure? Your cat crawls between
us, soft muzzle of nonchalance.
How each morning, thinking of
an old poem, you [...]

The Best Australian Poetry 2009 (UQP, ed Alan Wearne)

Well, I came home to a copy of UQP’s The Best Australian Poetry 2009 tonight, featuring poems from some of my Australian poetic heroes - Geoff Goodfellow, Robert Adamson & Thomas Shapcott – so it is a nice feeling to have 5 of my haiku included alongside these gentlemen and about 30 or so other fine [...]