Queensland

Words You Won’t Need on Your Tropical Holiday

Posted on 6 December 2019

Words You Won’t Need on Your Tropical Holiday

when the air sweeps
a swell of eucalyptus scent
inside your valise
here are some bon mots
you can leave behind:

crisp
brisk
sleet
snow
blustery
chilled
cozy
frost
blizzard
ice (well, you may want to save this one for cocktails…)
rime
biting
freezing
frozen
drift
icicle
snowman
raw
frigid
hail
cool
sled
sleigh
scarf
mitten
muffler
jumper
overcoat
hot cocoa
hot toddy
fire
snug

trust me –
you’ll have no need to utter
any icy sounds

poetry

December in Queensland

Posted on 5 December 2019

December in Queensland

Away in a Manger crackles
under an invisible Southern Cross
and full-lit half moon
while the maniacal kookaburras
and blood-curdling bush stone-curlews wail
accompanied by the occasional flaps and crashes
of overgrown fruit bats dangling from the trees
and once in a blessed while
the slightest sigh of breeze

it’s December in Queensland
so far from home

poetry

The Platypus Band

Posted on 4 December 2019

The Platypus Band

They say in Eungella
‘midst the river and sand
when darkness descends
and night cools the land
‘tis then that you’ll hear
what you can’t understand
no your ears don’t deceive you
it’s the Platypus Band.

It starts nice and calm
yes, perhaps a bit bland
til bats flood the sky
and the moment’s at hand
when wings beat the darkness
the duck-bills will jam
and belt out their anthem
We’re the Platypus Band!

Oh you may think it’s quiet
in the hills of Queensland
with only the creek’s lilt
to sing to a man
oh I doubt you’ll believe
til you hear it firsthand
those monotremes in stereo
they’re the Platypus Band!

poetry

farmstay vs. caravan park

Posted on 3 December 2019

farmstay vs. caravan park

after a string of caravan parks
here we are
camped on a farm
and we all go loose and easy
with room to run and kick a ball
and the great big sky of stars
arching over us
bright enough you can name them
even through the tent screen
and the dark’s black enough
to be able to slip into sleep
whenever you’re ready

crickets keep up a drone
so different from generator
and the highway’s a quiet whisper
in the distance
as the night lengthens the heat here actually ebbs –
at last we’ve found a place where sleep brings cool

over by the office Tilly the kangaroo dreams
her long hind limbs splayed in visible peace

poetry

Magnetic Island Koala

Posted on 2 December 2019

Magnetic Island Koala

you might miss him
except the wind’s rustling
the fine white fur of his inner ears
setting it to wave in the blazing sun
just enough movement to expose a soul

he clings to the trunk
with black barbed toes
head sinking with each exhale
like a tired toddler in her car seat
incomparably fuzzy in a grey suit
that must be stifling hot this noon

his eyes are mere sunken dots
turned inward, shut and dreaming
one leg’s kicked up a bit
to steady his slumbering self
and when his jaw slackens
and his lips loosen in sleep
four yellow twisted teeth emerge
(oh my)
not befitting the rest of his form
rather like a handsome British lord
with disappointing dental work

in the end, however, charm prevails

poetry

camp pool slide

Posted on 1 December 2019

camp pool slide

the kids line up
to corkscrew its length
just enough water
to keep the clip up
just enough depth
to make entry exciting
the temp’s just right
to orbit around
endlessly dripping giggles

poetry

seascape

Posted on 30 November 2019

seascape

sometimes I want a bit of wind and wave
the rhythm of that white curl of crest
smell of battered wrack
the sting of salt and sand
air you feel and taste
pushing your limbs and locks
til you know you’re still embodied
your hair going matted by mist
just looking at the restless grey out there

tonight it’s come with purple puffs of cloud
twining beach pea in the small hump of dune
a skiff with orange sail racing the dark
and a beach I can’t find an end for

this is highly enjoyable
I whisper to myself
(a bit of an understatement)
& thank all the elements for
assembling themselves just so
yet again