Landscape with Family

By | 1 February 2022

Karri keep watch over mill town,
basin bulldozed of trees.
Rows of timber houses,
weatherboard and corrugated iron
corralled by closed-picket fences.
Gardens where weeds spread disorder.

On the dirt road
a family poses for a photo,
a triangle of togetherness.
Mother at the apex beams; Father,
crouched below her, beams harder.
Their children, at opposite angles,
complete the geometry.

The grinning boy in bomber jacket
counterbalances the girl. She tries on a smile
that doesn’t quite fit. It’s the new raincoat,
two sizes too large, empty sleeves
dangling to knees.

Karri guard the horizon,
waiting to recover their country.
A child wears a garment
big enough for grievances to grow into.

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