4th January, Unprecedented, &, Currowan by Nicole Smede
4th January
160 kilometres through the open window
the smell of death, the smell of my home
blows northerly on a cool wind
It enters me, fills my lungs, weighs my heart
anchors it in that pit below
I bury it there.
juices and ash, cinders of disintegration
leaves and fallen trees
bones of the perished
and the souls left behind
but I am yet to grieve.
this will come - when reunited
the sweet scent of you
touches my tongue and I taste what remains
when I feel your feathered ash fall
on my skin, still warm
and take in wholly what has been
and what was taken, from you.
Unprecedented
There is beauty here
in destruction
in devastation
in soft ash and pale bones, in the blackened bark of bloodwoods
in the ghosts of grey gums saluting to the sky
there is beauty here
in barren
in smouldering
in the perfumed scent of resin hovering in golden canopies
in lush green sanctuaries - buried escapees, now the survivors’ paradise
there is beauty here
in angst
in heartbreak
in rising voices, hands held in warm grief
in care and custodianship of the destitute and dispossessed
there is beauty here
in the foreign
in disorder
in unsettling landscapes, those twisted seductive strangers
in unveiling altered territories, inviting kinship anew
there is beauty to come, here
in rejuvenation
in growth
when after rain and time the landscape renewed
will sing again the song of souls rebirthed.
Currowan
numb. depleted. drained
square eyed and blue screened
an orange dot on a refreshed page
peppering the borders - in fluro residue
fire retardant - an orange dot on a refreshed page
in fluro residue
peppering the borders, waiting for an update
square eyed and blue screened
numb. depleted. drained
an orange dot on a refreshed page
peppering the borders - scanning the streets
square eyed and blue screened
numb. depleted. drained
an enemy of our own making
in fluro residue fire retardant
waking states peppering the borders
in fluro residue
an enemy of our own making scanning the streets
an orange dot on a refreshed page
numb. depleted. drained
fire retardant waiting for an update
square eyed and blue screened
scanning the streets for an orange dot
on a refreshed page
an enemy of our making -
in waking states
waiting for an update in fluro residue
fire retardant peppering the borders
numb. depleted. drained
square eyed and blue screened.
Read some more poems from Nicole in Never Heard of Them, ebook on sale now!
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Executive Producers
Daniel Henson
Elliot Cameron
Sue White
Karolina Ristevski
