I come from the dead zone with clap trap jaw and clankin gait and bulletswhistle is my song halloooo coooweeeeee goes burnin down thegreengullylacedwithferns curlin coyly hideaway and low-dippin' currawong calls my locomotive breath announces me, my breath in the darlin morn and my heart jumpin with the joy of jump-up to that carnivorous constabulary dead-set keen to eat us all alive damn if I'll not slip from the steam of their winter broth and when they aim - and only then - then in my wrath I'll rain damnation down upon their tick-pocked heads callin all you lustrous coots and laddies hidden in the bloody bracken come or lead-riddled, swimmin out the ether, bound for heaven or hell which entertainment we can wait indefinitely for to see for all scabby-knee kids never given a brumby's chance astride my last I'm a moveable fort a hero with breath forged in a fearful fire June's bite an ice of iron stop your coughin don't dream I will leave you wrote I needed no lead or powder wrote words would be louder I lied
29.0: PASTORAL
Poetry Editor Stuart CookeReleased December 2008
Index of Poems
Contributor Notes
Cover Image: David Prater
The second in another binary pairing, PASTORAL was meant to be Cordite's answer to SECRET CITIES but, with the introduction of open comments on the poetry in the issue, quickly transformed into a strange and captivating example of web 2.0 dialogue. Compelling, even.
This is fantastical. One of my favourite ever poems in Cordite. So rich and alive, control over the voice, everything. Poetry as a form of music. Superb.
Lovely!
Thanks so much. I had forgotten this was coming out and am now getting lost in the links and the writing and the constellations of poets splattered like bugs on the windscreen of deep cyberspace. Who needs drugs?
xJen
Hi everyone!
Nice to read yr comments – i didn't actually realise we'd opened comments on this post … usually with the poems we don't – but it makes me wonder what would happen if we allowed readers to make comments on all poems.
Thoughts?
Well, I think it's a good idea, David. It allows people to engage the poem and for the poet to get feedback. You can always moderate them. Also it opens up the opportunity for more general discussion on poetics and creates a sense of community. And from a purely practical point of view will increase traffic through your site. I've learned a lot about my own work and poetry in general from the comments at my site.
Let 'er rip. If the bleeding turns into hemorrhaging, I'll let you know. Also I'd like to comment on some other bloody exciting work here like Ivy's and Berndt's and Nick's particularly. Baz Luhrmann, eat your heart out.
Thanks Paul, Jen,
we'll consider it … baby steps and all that.
D
Yay. Those floodgates are open.
From where I am in tame (“polite”) Canada, I'm excited by be in this milieu of rowdy Aussies!
Jen, the musicality of this piece is astounding, the of poem kind you want to read aloud a few times to feel it in your mouth. Tasty!
Yay Canada!
To comment on Rachel's poem, click here!
I think a certain level of interraction is potentially a good thing, especially in a site like this where a whole bunch of really fine writers are reading as well as publishing. There is a risk of flame wars, as tend to happen when things are opened up for comment, but I think it could be interesting, and in fact somewhat groundbreaking- I mean, people chat about poetry and poetics in cafes and bars and classes and specific online communities, and you do occasionally get that sort of dialogue in print journals over a period of time, but I don't think I've really seen it in an online zine- and it has the advantage of being in real-time.
I am loving the whole public dialogue angle Cordite is currently trajecting, it's
very much needed, an online hole that Cordite fills perfectly. No one who reads here suffers that badly from loose vowels or strained adj's, do they?
Someone has emailed me to ask me about the subject of this poem. If you aren't Australian and familiar with the bushrangers, you may not realise it's Ned Kelly.