Nick Flittner
Implication – dry means
not wet
but does it also mean
no life?
Drought grips
tight
suffocating
exhausting
tenderizing the spirit
with thump after thump
on and on
thump thump thump
pounding
soil to dust
smiles to tears
reason to despair
relentless
searing
day upon day
of lost hope
the opportunity cost of life
deposited
in no-interest accounts
unreachable.
Yet somewhere between
Akubra and Blundstone
there is a glimmer
an inextinguishable flame
smoldering
which says
with a twitch of the lips
yep, she’s a bit dry
could do with a drop
about now.
© Nick Flittner 18.3.08
Meander Dam
I heard on the radio
about a leak in the wall
a crack
a division
a fault
in the new smooth surface.
A man said more water comes in
than goes out.
How can that be?
Non-tidal
but with waves
the dam stirs feelings
sitting flat and shallow
in the high country.
Good for the farms
good for the river they say.
But not good for the community
which fought
and argued
and clashed
its way through
to entirely disagree
exhausted
at the end.
The cracks
and divisions
and faults
are certainly there
the hope is
they will not develop
to cause a final rent
and send a huge wall of water
down the valley
to drown the village
forever.
© Nick Flittner 18.3.08
Peter Macrow,
Tasmanian Times Poetry Editor.
Tasmanian poets or those with a Tasmanian link are invited to send up to 5 poems which have not appeared previously in print or electronic media to:
[email protected]
For the complete collection, click here: Poetry, Peter Macrow
