Poetry – ‘Black Cockatoos’ & ‘Dove Lake’

Black Cockatoos

They flew low

so close to my head

this black, glossy pair

yellow-flecked tails flashing

like air-borne sunflowers

that the beat of feathered wings

fanned my hair

as I looked up, laughing

rejoicing in their shrieks

revelling in their freedom

§   –   §   –   §   –   §   –   §   –   §     

Dove Lake

Tasmanian Highlands

In silence by the lake

each to our own thoughts –

enraptured by shifting waters

the mountain’s curving cradle,

fragrant spaces, fresh with scent and colour

rock, earth, trees and native flowers –

our eyes met

unspoken feelings

laid down deep, like the lake.

All this and more

we knew

and carried

like an ancient weathered stone

held in our hands

indestructible

a thing of permanence –

standing in silence

together by the lake.

Thérèse Corfiatis was born and grew up in Hobart. After a spell in Adelaide, she eventually moved back to Tasmania and settled in the beautiful coastal town of Ulverstone. She has worked as a disability support worker, a vocation close to her heart, as her oldest son was diagnosed at a very young age with autism. Therese has been active in the local literary scene in Ulverstone for many years.

TASMANIAN TIMES: Poetry Review – Thérèse Corfiatis’ ‘Breath’.