deep south 2013
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dsj poetry
Guide
“watch the waning” Annora Gollop
stalks wither, cicadas cast shells
bees peter out across floors
the sail-cloth rots; he takes
running and offset measurements
to design a new garden
people walk hand in hand with buildings
say things like “I want to play the pokies”
after experience comes knowing and a theory
but remember the waning
we don't like our lips to shrink
age is knocking
like a priest with no beliefs
a salesman with nothing to sell
a neighbour with an empty plate
and we must still laugh, as the sun laughs
Evolution
“The capital God believes tears from a pilgrim” Courtney Sina MeredithHe can only do what's possible
for them to do
so he sends
slightly more enlightened prophets
to egg them on
the new heaven is a long way
off
the scriptures are updated
every month or so
the architecture of the temple
has to be achieved
in slow stages of complexity
robes of priests
are embroidered with simple
patterns
drawn by God in the sand
every new moon
but not always
interpreted correctly
so some priests display incorrect
symbology
food causes less
butchery than once upon a time
but it's still a long wait
for a vege burger
Owen Bullock has published a collection of poetry, sometimes the sky isn't big enough (Steele Roberts, 2010); two books of haiku, wild camomile (Post Pressed, Australia, 2009) and breakfast with epiphanies (Oceanbooks, 2012), and the novella, A Cornish Story (Palores, UK, 2010). He has edited a number of journals and anthologies, including Poetry NZ and Given an ordinary stone (New Zealand Poetry Society, 2013)
