Hot body

'Half-awake at 5 a.m.…' Half-awake at 5 a.m. – listening to the intermittent conversations of a softly spoken rain. — Thom Sullivan Manners: He leers at me with every turn of his head. Had I his manners, I'd cut him dead. — Marisa Wikramanayake Bits and pieces The sun is a hot body It warmly makes love to me The soldier outside the academy winks at me As I soldier on — Isabella Fels clouded haiku today's clouded sky is a gauze bandage to heal this infection — Tim Heffernan Kottis Ottily the great hero they named it after the branch library superb with the lame till our face falls off — Christopher Mulrooney My Life in a Rhyming Couplet Rejection, fear and loneliness, pursued me in my prime, My pain was transferred to a pen, thus began my life of rhyme. — Damian Balassone Poem On a college notice-board a sign: The swans play jazz when you are not looking. — Gwynith Young ever after this once upon a time rain, spattering louvres, calling up hours musty and troubled, a dog-eared fable propping afternoon, ink running ever after — Kevin Gillam parrot the green parrot in the red bottlebrush along a side street where the railway line curves towards the city we cling to this edge & wait for the train in uniforms of weary transfer remembering the green parrot in the red bottlebrush — Rory Harris Two Tanka my lord, my peace I long for you-- in these familiar places in all the absent faces I look for you driving through deeply shaded avenues pockets of truth shadow-hidden between bright shards of sunlight — Julie Thorndyke

Marisa Wikramanayake is a Perth based freelance writer and editor. Her first book of poetry, published when she was 17, was a finalist for the 2001 Gratiaen Awards. Isabella Fels is a Melbourne writer who has suffered from schizophrenia for over 10 years. She has an Arts degree majoring in Psychology and Spanish from Swinburne University. Tim Heffernan is has been published online at OZpoet, Poets Union, Thylazine and Cordite.

Christopher Mulrooney, who lives in Los Angeles, California, has written poems and translations in Zoland Poetry, The Hollins Critic, H_NGM_N, Knock and Eclipse, criticism in Elimae, The Film Journal and Parameter, and a volume of verse called notebook and sheaves. Damian Balassone is a poet from Templestowe, Vic. Kevin Gillam is a West Australian writer with work published in numerous Australian and overseas journals. His two published books of poetry are Other Gravities (2003) and Permitted To Fall (2007), both by SunLine Press.

Rory Harris is a poet and teacher. His poetry collections include Over the Outrow, From the Residence, Snapshots From a Moving Train,