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ARTS AND CULTURE

The colour of you

  • 20 July 2021
Selected poems hive

& now

the blue

 

of your eyes

the green

 

of your garden

a white box

 

hive of bees

the colour of you

 

 

mothers

The growing

rhythm & sway

 

of you against

the wind, belly

 

full curved moon

a universe

 

before you

 

& a daughter

throws flowers

 

from the end

of the jetty

 

a string

of granddaughters, sons

 

a son in law

mid-morning Sunday

 

water scrunches                  

as a face would                

 

just before tears

 

& at the hand

held bus stop

 

it won’t be

long now

 

just a few

maybe

 

a little

her fingers catch

 

in the throat

as the child

 

in a dusted down

school uniform

 

morning waits

in the rain, mother

 

                                          & the woman

kneels to the height                                                                    

 

of the child

a fast spit bath

 

handkerchief wipe

around the edges

 

of his mouth

in the afternoon

 

squirming shadows

she holds her ground

 

her arms

are always

 

spread as

if flight

 

would lift

her, but

                                                                                                   

for a child

at each hand                                                       

 

o great

weary clouds

 

age hangs over

exhausted knocking

 

themselves together

a little rain

 

a few tears from the edge

crow’s feet eyes

 

mothering

in middle age

 

our mothers

are here before us

 

now our wives

& the wives of others

 

scarfed & drawn

as if straight from bed                                                                  

 

in comfortable shoes

& along the walls

 

of ward 3E a world

never imagined waits

 

our mothers are dead

sa mga yuuhom may dak mga kasakit

 

in the eyes there is rich pain

 

 

change

Having twisted

canes around

 

their wires & tied off

& waited for a little rain

 

to draw through

barely breathing limbs

 

for buds, to green to leaf & flutter

as children have run with flags

 

along wet arteries

bleeding change

Rory Harris currently teaches at Playford College in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. His most recent collection, beach (2016)
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