in the red centre
hardy survivors
stinting spinifex
miserly mallee
thrifty rockrats
and frugal euro
saw the spinifex, mallee and one scampering rockrat
on that ghost gum walk
but no euro
signomi, parakalo
ormiston gorge
Category Archives: Poems & Images
Ski Stop
in summer
to come upon attelas
from fontanet to la tzoumaz
is very walking dead
could that be the whisper
of souls unsettled
or just the complaint and creak
of resting pylons
5 km on deepdene sand
If they tell you
(them that’s done it)
before a job or a challenge
or contemplating an unsuitable lover
it’s a walk on the beach
turn around and take
the uphill trek
the stony path
the vale of tears
instead
The only one what’s told the truth
that old Lancaster guy
had it’s clear
actually done it
(Kerr, the beach, the movie)
immured by silken powder
reason he knew to call it
From Here to Eternity
Cape to Cape Walk; Day 7
spelunk
the white out mandates
a dark house
(as theatre types say)
a lazy no-walk day
later
rains abated
we go caving
on the cool
cavern floor
calcite clads
conundrums
stalactites seem
to angle the air
sharp and incisive
or dangle with care
ancient Nervous Housewives
flowstones might
attain the calm
of stupa
or rather the trek
on sabbatical
gather cellulite
Cape to Cape Walk; Day 5 (housebound at Prevelly)
eco fail
i threw out my crust at lunch
flung it in the bush
only to have nightmares
of headlines years on
native australian species blighted by
strange ailment
thought to have been
introduced by
half-eaten ham and cheese
sandwich
Cape to Cape Walk; Day 4
Surfing
I don’t buy it
received etymology
ver 0.95b
tech dudes
claiming inspiration from
Southern California
beach culture
key boards
presuming
in every os
cmd ctrl
space fn optn
caps lock
skin close
for real
caps crest
ctrl-breaks
Day 3 Cape to Cape
Juxtaposte
it happens that
Lady Gaga plays
Do What You Want
as I drive pass
retreats Seventh Day Adventist
and Anglican in turn
(featuring R. Kelly [Explicit])
with ped on pedal
at a constant 90
that moment ticks faster
in an instant of klicks
than the driver’s wit
(debating adjectives)
24 hours later
turning onto Smith’s Beach
footsore from first legs
it happens that they drive pass
2 white haired grannies
gleefully lick magnums
in a white elantra
(incongruous)
*walking the Cape to Cape Track
Days 0 and 1
Consumption
The lesson from history and nature is
adapt and survive
It is roots in rock
eking spare moisture
from minute fissures in time
to pry the jagged jaws
too thirsty yet to ever stand
closer than several cracks apart
It is fleshy welwitschia
named mirabilis
reputed to live
two full millennia
with just two leaves and
elephants about to shred them for dinner
The lesson from history and nature is
to love the feast
to love it fully
to await it humbly
to expect it
never
Palmweg Concession, Namibia
December 2013
first published on salt.org.sg
sink
built beneath basilica
for khans and kings
to funnel drink
to store snow
centuries ago
long before freon
savouring summer cocktail
with turkish delight
what think
the two medusa heads
upside down
and layabout
of recent developments
gone primetime
as thrilling locale
in Dan Brown’s latest book?
Yerebatan Sarayi (Basilica Cisterns)
Istanbul
thumb
after the sun has set
the tide receded
the speedboat moored
our gadgets stored
the things of man
and those afore
retired
retreated
a modern lamp
combines with
timeless sand
to cast this print
antipodal 2011 