Poems: Peewee and Kookaburras in Leadlights
Australian birds in glass and gutters are the subjects of this week’s Poet’s Corner contributions from Ross Jackson.
Peewee
Grallina cyanoleuca, the magpie-lark
distracted from the newspaper by a pitter-patter
of claws, listening hard my mind sees
a peewee bathe and drink from a gutter
on the roof above the gloom in which I sit
it’s not what Google says but actually
I’ve seen a spivvy bird
identified by patterns of black
and white splotches and whorls
interspersed in its feathered suit
it sounds busy with the opening
and closing of the envelopes of its wings
the briskness of the soft clitter-clatter
implies diligence in bathing
I have heard the piping of a peewee
more of its song to know outside
where its strut declares its sentience
Kookaburras in Leadlights
Old with the new
an inner suburb with strip shopping
a suitable vibe for hipsters the Roma’s
classic continental rolls long gone
Vittoria umbrellas outside
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shaved poodles in shop windows
but kookaburras still glow in leadlights
old cinema boxed up for
Ayurvedic medicine
The Backpackers, formerly The Grand Hotel
still cool, like effortlessly cool
(cool before cool was even heard of)
a whiff of Havelock’s Ready Rubbed
still hangs about the cornices
no one alive remembers
Norm Appleyard’s battered flake
but kookaburras still glow in leadlights
Ross Jackson is a retired teacher who lives with his wife and their companion dog in the Perth suburbs. He is a member of OOTA Poets, which has had a close association with the Fremantle Arts Centre since 1996. He is also a regular reader at the Fremantle monthly poetry event ‘Voicebox’, and has had his poetry published in literary journals in Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand.