Books & Poetry

Wednesday, Jul 13, 2016

Poem: Another Day

Books & Poetry

In this week’s Poet’s Corner, Lindy Warrell contributes a poem about her former home of Aldinga Bay.

Compiled by John Miles

Wednesday July 13, 2016

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Another Day

Aldinga Bay
luminous in winter sun,
my first walk in years.
I follow a new path along ochre cliffs where
once, I ran down countless steps to
squelch toes in the sands of
incoming tides and laugh,
my little dog Lolo by my side.
He died.

Clarrie is seven now
an Aussie Terrier, lame
as I am breathless.
We are a steadfast pair
yet, today, my walk is solitary,
a practice;
I tread the distance between west-facing,
waiting-for-sunset seats
bequeathed in grief for the already dead
on whose memory I sit.
Gasps become sighs.

A slight swell catches my eye
waves glisten and break
on a limestone shelf where
crabs, snails, periwinkles, worms –
intertidal creatures – slide, scurry, hide
in the sponge gardens, pools and ponds
of salty ebb-tide shallows. Above,
dogs sniff, search, splash and scamper.
They bark: Come, you, too, can play.

Revived, I thrill.
Yes, my heart whispers,
Clarrie and I will join in the fun.
Another day.

Lindy Warrell is a retired anthropologist who studied and taught at the University of Adelaide. She did field work in Sri Lanka, towards her PhD in the anthropology of myth, ritual and religion. She also worked across Australia for a number of years as a consultant on Aboriginal heritage matters, mostly in the Top End of the Northern Territory. As a child she lived in Japan, but being a publican’s daughter she was born and raised in outback pubs, including The Transcontinental Hotel in South Australia’s Oodnadatta. She loves jazz, the bush and the ocean, and is about to revise the first draft of her first novel, though increasingly time is being spent on poetry.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au.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.