Poem: Heat Haze

Books & Poetry

Wednesday December 17, 2014 Comments

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Today’s Poet’s Corner contribution comes from a work-in-progress collection of poems about the South Australian outback by Lynda Becker.

Heat Haze

Australian summer
north winds
land baked to a cinder
eucalypts
the survivors
white bark shredding
smell of gum leaves
hot dry wind
lightning strike then fire.
Reminder of the Holocaust?
In the rear
rain caressing the earth to life
swelling buds on black stumps
small miracle.
Great Southern Land.

Stone Poem

The stone is a gibber from the desert lands
weathered smooth through rain and wind
now it lies in main street, Coober Pedy,
the opal miner’s dream space.
The stone now watches the world
advancing like a storm front
through the bush
bitumen marching in a straight line
scrub retreats in the face of the advance.
The stone wonders, where will it all end?
Perhaps one day the stone will assert itself again
like the stones from Roman roads in Britain
or the jungle struggling through Aztec ruins
to remind us of ancient alluvial and primordial begins.
The gibber, the great survivor,
symbol of the Earth Mother’s endurance
over time.

Lynda Becker previously lived in the SA outback and is now resident in the Adelaide Hills. An original contributor to Poet’s Corner in its Independent Weekly print days, she grew up in London’s then working-class Thameside Fulham. “Poems From That Forbidden Landscape of the Broken Heart”, about growing up in Fulham, was published in 2009 and reviewed in The Independent Weekly.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au.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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<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address>
											
							Today’s Poet’s Corner contribution comes from a work-in-progress collection of poems about the South Australian outback by Lynda Becker.
<h4><a href="#heat-haze" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="heat-haze"><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 Haze</h4>
Australian summer 
north winds 
land baked to a cinder 
eucalypts 
the survivors 
white bark shredding 
smell of gum leaves 
hot dry wind 
lightning strike then fire. 
Reminder of the Holocaust? 
In the rear 
rain caressing the earth to life 
swelling buds on black stumps 
small miracle. 
Great Southern Land.
<h4><a href="#stone-poem" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="stone-poem"><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>Stone Poem</h4>
The stone is a gibber from the desert lands 
weathered smooth through rain and wind 
now it lies in main street, Coober Pedy, 
the opal miner’s dream space. 
The stone now watches the world 
advancing like a storm front 
through the bush 
bitumen marching in a straight line 
scrub retreats in the face of the advance. 
The stone wonders, where will it all end? 
Perhaps one day the stone will assert itself again 
like the stones from Roman roads in Britain 
or the jungle struggling through Aztec ruins 
to remind us of ancient alluvial and primordial begins. 
The gibber, the great survivor, 
symbol of the Earth Mother’s endurance 
over time.
Lynda Becker previously lived in the SA outback and is now resident in the Adelaide Hills. An original contributor to Poet’s Corner in its Independent Weekly print days, she grew up in London’s then working-class Thameside Fulham. “Poems From That Forbidden Landscape of the Broken Heart”, about growing up in Fulham, was published in 2009 and reviewed in The Independent Weekly.
Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 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.
 
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