Melbourne, Australia 

after Nam Le and Gang of Youths



over the undulating roads and

the graffiti lined alleys i asked if

the concrete is as alien to the land

as the land is to the nation, statues

on horseback imposing over the

blooming gardens, marble grounds

the shrine to sacrifice, a facsimile

of the parthenon, engraved with

traumas of the pacific theatre:

Malaya on one column, Korea

on the other. in a corner

of the city the brokers describe

the ephemera of the spiralling

patterns, the seven sisters and

the dots, the animal footprints and

bushfruit. the nations within,

beside, against the nation,

acknowledgment without

reclamation. jangling guitars

ring and ring, the aching voice

resisting resignation. how silence

will not fall in the shadow

of regret. how hurt will not deplete

a willingness to try. how everything

contends to keep the heart tender

and strong.