Australia Street
I know it's autumn when exotic importslose their cargo of leavesEmpty branches startle the skyNorthern cut-outs curling in the suncatch on fence wire at the schoolflooding gutters after rain
In summer the gumtree in our yardslims down, mindful of the dry spellOily crescents pressed underfootsoften the asphalt under the lineLoose bark hangs in strips for weekslike forgotten underwear
Gum nuts line the pathway to the bintiny hulls, our hidden progeny.
Un-titled
Dark handsbeat the silenceCurled tight they holdthe anxious moment— let others slip by
Years of blacknessspread across the palms— rivers dispossessed_______tributaries__going nowhere
Time runs outwith the present fear— a lifeline held__in metal cuffs__caught at the wrist
Truce
A man carries a childon shouldersbraced for war
Small handshold armsraised in surrender
Brenda Saunders is a Koori poet from the Wiradjuri Nation. She has just had a chapbook Firestick published by the Varuna Writers' House at Katoomba. She was resident there recently as the Dorothy Hewitt Poetry Fellow for 2012.