many hands
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
day one
barely there the water
that little boy went into the river
he was a monkey quite a monkey
he was a little boy he went out
the gate and didn’t come back
grief from the long distance
dreaming him home
a face lit with words
she turns to me ghost and the birds
singing in the dark as we leave
before sunrise remember the shapes
of letters and write them quickly
singing birds in the dark grief
to the dreaming mothers but singing
there is so much to do Anna
Anna Maria Anna Maria Dell’oso
silver grey maker
of tea and the distance
between two emphatic typewriters
ACQUIRING SATELLITES
ACQUIRING SATELLITES
PLEASE DRIVE TO THE HIGHLIGHTED ROUTE
PLEASE DRIVE TO THE HIGHLIGHTED ROUTE
hello Australia in the carpark
of Avis rentals where we’re picking up
a red Mitsubishi hello Karen
it’s nice to be here it’s nice to hear
your sweet voice attached
to the windscreen and telling us
how to get out of the airport the city how
to get on the road north RECALCULATING
RECALCULATING this is the Western
Distributor this is a ramp this is first left
second right enter roundabout and take
another look out the window Karen baby
it’s good to have you along on this side
of the water hello to the brick veneer
to semis leaning in close in chorus
TRANSNATIONAL MOBILITY SISTERS
the highway opens its arms
the city falls behind a speeding
red beetle on a moving map
ganglia more or less intact
more or less back on the ground
we’re looking for the Putty Road
somewhere west of Windsor galahs
crack up rosellas whistle the day curves on and on
sulphur crests in a field hundreds of them
dead kangaroo dead kangaroo dead
kangaroo one big live one with balls
there he goes unhurried ruminant
lolloping into the trees what else?
Lola Ridge buried her mother
at Rookwood in August 1907
then left for San Francisco
how will we find her now?
three and a half stars at Singleton
on the New England Highway out to it
cockatoo dreaming eating the miles
tearing centipedes out of the earth
©Michele Leggott |
