1. Perth
The Doctor is in, blowing
its cold Indian breath
along Adelaide Terrace
and over the phosphor of the Swan.
There’s Saturday night’s slabs
and plastic wrap at lamp posts
broken jewels at the grating.
A Holden hums at the lights.
The generator plant next door creaks
trees at the car park edge
blow like clouds of smoke
to my muddy eye near midnight.
The ABC tower interrupts water views
and the sky is padded with cloud.
It’s too hot for a festival.
My aircon pushes the cold nicely
and you’d rather it than
sweat between breast and brain.
The concert tonight was a lot of
percussion and water and knew
when to crescendo.
Today I got as close to
the Rothkos as allowed.
His paint drips upwards
and the colours float
but seem kin to Rover Thomas’s
language dots, ochres
and black Lake Paraku
across the way.
There’s these notes
about Transcendence
but all around, smell the heat
touch the windy present
or it touches you.
I put my head in Hepworth
hear a rushing of metal time, air
and the stilled.
2. Adelaide
Change is moving across the continent.
You can follow on TV.
The weather page isobars wriggle
and colours eternally change.
The first whiff of cold is at the East End
waiting for the free bus
sky becoming crowded and breezy.
And like the weather
I leave a trail of myself
all along the way
though time zones and deserts
dust me up
and unsteadily breathe me
into nameless minutes
belonging to no-one.
Jill Jones
Snapped Feb 19-23 2005, Perth and Adelaide
_______________________________________________________
Jill Jones
web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
blog: http://rubystreet.blogspot.com/
Latest books:
Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
http://www.wildhoneypress.com
Screens Jets Heaven. Available now from Salt Publishing
http://www.saltpublishing.com
|