#74 Magritte in North Queensland

There are no clouds. Let
me add some. A flock
of rainbow lorikeets
animates the sky. Let me
make them one bird
& take the color
out of it. Translucent
so the light shines through
but leaves some substance
in behind. The sky
darkens at the arrogance
of the act. The land
is consumed by the sea.
Imagination's orphan
becomes La Grande Famille.

#73 The Misanthropes

So great
their hatred
of humanity

they plant
heavy drapes
to keep it out.

A human act.
 

#72 The Wedding Breakfast

The Christian fable
is loaves &
fishes. For M.
an egg. The lion
is an early piece of
microwave technology,
its presence agitating
sub-atomic particles
in the air. Two minutes
& the egg is boiled. The
wedding ceremony takes
a little longer. Priests
prefer convection ovens.

 

#71 À la suite de l’eau, les nuages

After the water, the

clouds. After clouds

the telephone. Then

the hope that

someone will hear it

ring. After the answer

the question. Who

picked the flowers?

#70 The Lost World

In the surrounding
countryside
trees define
the type of horse
that might be found
there. The contours
suggest a woman’s
body; but with a
different angularity
some have seen
it as an empty
bowl of fruit. A figure
loses its memory
along with its outline.
Words wilt in the
winter heat. There
are no dinosaurs.

#69 Musings of a Solitary Walker

He does not think
about the water
he walks
beside. He walks
without it. Another
river. The Sambre.
His mother’s
suicide by drowning,
her nightdress a
veil around her face—
but that’s another
painting. This is
the Rue Morgue,
levitation, the corpse
laid bare. He does not
think about her. She
is a disquieting muse.
He leaves her behind
on the bridle-path, walks
on alone. Apples &
umbrellas will
eventually overtake him.

#68 The Happy Hand

The distances de-
fined. & by default
the spaces in
between. Balanced
relationships. Without
which the fingers
would not harmonize.
Some things taught,
something less
learnt. Practice makes.
Not perfect but im-
parts some form
to it. A semblance
of. In part. Way there.
Waiting for. What
is brought to it.
Outside the span.

#67 The Art of Conversation III

A bull
in a state
of grace,
although
alert enough
to seem
alive. Birds in
silhouette, al-
most a word,
the land
above, the
sea below. A
pace behind
unseen &
silent, she stands
parenthesized
by columns
listening to
everything
they have
to say.