Joanna Preston: Tasmanaut Poet
So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went, And took the fire with him, and a knife. And as they sojourned both of them together, Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father, Behold the preparations, fire and iron, But where the lamb for this burnt-offering? Then Abram bound the youth with belts and …
Continue reading "Tuesday Poem –“Parable of the Old Man and the Young”, by Wilfred Owen"
Of course, she always had hordes of lovers so whenever I saw her, fat and placid termite-queen of the nursing home I imagined her naked, lying on a bed of animal fur, small moustachioed men, smelling of horses and sweat and woodsmoke taking turns to lose themselves …
Continue reading "Tuesday Poem – “Lydia of the Lace Doilies”"
When his mother came back each night from the laundry exhausted he would rub liniment into her shoulders until they eased. This was the anatomy lesson of love, the boy learning and exploring, re-forming the first body. Run your hand over the surface of her leg, the solid, ridged bronze, his vision made large – …
As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say “The breath goes now,” and some say, “No” So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ’Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Movement of …
Continue reading "Tuesday Poem – “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”, by John Donne"
June 22nd carries quite a bit of freight in our house this year. It's the winter solstice; it's the day they announce the finalists of the 2010 NZ Post Book Awards (and the winner of the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry – fingers, toes and various organs crossed) and it's also …
A Dark Feathered Art 