Miromiro speaks
he sounds her out
scoutishly—a collectorDo you speak Tomtit?
an unremembered house
shingled—crisscrossing green
it could rain and take a year
for the forest
to sup to its rootsfrom the flat ramble
up whiskey-reeling paths
Miromiro circlesshe does not speak
his darting lingo
she speaks green
catbird, a little curlew
sleepless
tonguesher blood claims
to know this gully’s oxygen
and quickens to ithomely predators
her feet and pulsefaltering
across streams
clinging to walls
like a gecko
dirt under nailsa bannister of nettles
guides hands
to oil-capped mushrooms
neighbourly dock leavesstretched below
the clear river
wouldn’t mind
lapping at sinew
cavorting with bones
still Miromiro follows
an omen in her chest
sets minute talons
in throbbing muscleshe is flightless—below
everything is sharp and brighta final incantation
of undoing
she is alonebut for Miromiro
who watches as she sobs
relief over the nettlespurging a body sunk
with listless crowded terrorsshe is finally alone
the forest keeps on
plants arch spines for late sun
and nettles drink a little saltMiromiro
stops asking questionsbut nods and fixes himself
more firmly
slows her blood
to a stream’s unhurried paceand down through the gully
she remembers
- FREE: 20 Poets anthology
- 91: NO THEME VIIISUBMIT to C Gaskin 90: MONSTERwith N Curnow, coming soon! 89: DOMESTICwith N Harkin 88: TRANSQUEERwith S Barnes and Q Eades 87: DIFFICULTwith O Schwartz & H Isemonger 86: NO THEME VIIwith L Gorton 85: PHILIPPINESwith Mookie L and S Lua 84: SUBURBIAwith L Brown and N O'Reilly 83: MATHEMATICSwith Fiona Hile 82: LANDwith J Stuart and J Gibian 81: NEW CARIBBEANwith Vladimir Lucien 80: NO THEME VIwith Judith Beveridge 57.1: EKPHRASTICwith C Atherton and P Hetherington 57: CONFESSIONwith Keri Glastonbury 56: EXPLODE with Dan Disney 55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUSwith M Chakraborty and K MacCarter 55: FUTURE MACHINES with Bella Li 54: NO THEME V with F Wright and O Sakr 53.0: THE END with Pam Brown 52.0: TOIL with Carol Jenkins 51.1: UMAMI with Luke Davies and Lifted Brow 51.0: TRANSTASMAN with Bonny Cassidy 50.0: NO THEME IV with John Tranter 49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH with M Hall and S Seita 49.0: OBSOLETE with Tracy Ryan 48.1: CANADA with K MacCarter and S Rhodes 48.0: CONSTRAINT with Corey Wakeling 47.0: COLLABORATION with L Armand and H Lambert 46.1: MELBOURNE with Michael Farrell 46.0: NO THEME III with Felicity Plunkett 45.0: SILENCE with Jan Owen 44.0: GONDWANALAND with Derek Motion 43.1: PUMPKIN with Kent MacCarter 43.0: MASQUE with Ann Vickery 42.0: NO THEME II with Gig Ryan 41.1: RATBAGGERY with Duncan Hose 41.0: TRANSPACIFIC with J Rowe and M Nardone 40.1: INDONESIA with Kent MacCarter 40.0: INTERLOCUTOR with Libby Hart 39.1: GIBBERBIRD with Sarah Gory 39.0: JACKPOT! with Sam Wagan Watson 38.0: SYDNEY with Astrid Lorange 37.1: NEBRASKA with Sean Whalen 37.0: NO THEME! with Alan Wearne 36.0: ELECTRONICA with Jill Jones
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