stem (2007)

a watched rain never falls. alone in our many rooms craving left-aloneness.

*

stem overgrown with thought. seated in lotus position.

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we map disappearances. small birds wrapped daily. cannot drink the river.

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rowing three hours each way between us. to arrive at degrees of fidelity. granting the eye permission to lick.

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think we’re coping better with crop failures. though there are times we want to murder the fruit. unpeel what is peeled. how we never know how to hold what's dying.

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in spite of our ghosts, go scuttling in party shoes. go scuttling, eyes wrapped in sheets. ditching dharma, ditching precepts.

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our housedust. a lint magnet. stem the breath with fluff. dustmites fed on skinflakes.

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if the rain would pile upon itself. if the harvest. bring breath to what is said.

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lotus position. the spine a stem.

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to err. still planting the heart. craving left-aloneness. listening for dry echo.

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i say tremble then. break with the room. strew dust. be spilt.

*

you say stay faithful. wear blue on blue days.

Image & Text reading

On Thursday the 4th of October I was one of three featured poets who took part in the Image & Text reading at Deakin University. I was honoured to share the bill with Angela Costi and Judith Rodriguez... plus there was an open mic section which included Peter Davis.

Thanks to all who came along and took part. The readings were fantastic. Thanks also to Karen Le Rossignol for organising the event.

I selected poems which (mainly) fitted in with the image / text theme. This was my set list:

Drive-thru
Vipassana
pollen
Heartwood
Art, Life and The Other Thing
Saturday, Brunswick St
Self-portrait (with wires, city & no clothes)
I will not carry