Poetry of the parklands

Books & Poetry

Wednesday October 09, 2013 Comments

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Former Adelaide resident David Adès now lives in Pittsburgh in the US, but in these poems his thoughts return to this city’s spring and the following summer.

Honey Boy Dreaming

Always a dreamer, he floats high
in pale blue sky, fingers skipping
through clouds, thoughts cirrus-wispy.

His eyes are somewhere else.
He is always drinking from them:
the shimmering air,

the green parklands,
bright red bursts of bottlebrush,
magpies’ black and white swoop.

He is a honeyeater, flitting
from here to here, and his world
is a flowering grevillea.

Heat Wave

In the parklands
trees raise supplicating branches
praying for rain,

broken limbs lie
scattered on the ground
letting in sun, letting in sky.

David Adès is a widely published poet and a previous long-time member Adelaide’s Friendly Street Poets. His poetry collection “Mapping the World” was commended for the Fellowship of Australian Writers 2008 Anne Elder Award.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems up to 30 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.

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<h1>Poetry of the parklands</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address>
											
							<p>Former Adelaide resident David Adès now lives in Pittsburgh in the US, but in these poems his thoughts return to this city’s spring and the following summer.</p>
<h4><a href="#honey-boy-dreaming" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="honey-boy-dreaming"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Honey Boy Dreaming</h4>
<p>Always a dreamer, he floats high<br />
in pale blue sky, fingers skipping<br />
through clouds, thoughts cirrus-wispy.</p>
<p>His eyes are somewhere else.<br />
He is always drinking from them:<br />
the shimmering air,</p>
<p>the green parklands,<br />
bright red bursts of bottlebrush,<br />
magpies’ black and white swoop.</p>
<p>He is a honeyeater, flitting<br />
from here to here, and his world<br />
is a flowering grevillea.</p>
<h4><a href="#heat-wave" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="heat-wave"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Heat Wave</h4>
<p>In the parklands<br />
trees raise supplicating branches<br />
praying for rain,</p>
<p>broken limbs lie<br />
scattered on the ground<br />
letting in sun, letting in sky.</p>
<p><i>David Adès</i><b><i> </i></b><i>is a widely published poet and a previous long-time member Adelaide’s Friendly Street Poets. His poetry collection “Mapping the World” was commended for the Fellowship of Australian Writers 2008 Anne Elder Award.</i></p>
<p><em><strong>Readers’ original and unpublished poems up to 30 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to <a href="mailto:poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au">poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au</a>. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.</strong></em></p>
							<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank  rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2013/10/09/poetry-of-the-parklands/" target=_blank  rel="canonical">original article</a>.</p>
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