Judith Wright: Train Journey
Glassed with cold sleep and dazzled by the moon,
out of the confused hammering dark of the train
I looked and saw under the moon's cold sheet
your delicate dry breasts, country that built my heart;
and the small trees on their uncoloured slope
like poetry moved, articulate and sharp
and purposeful under the great dry flight of air,
under the crosswise currents of wind and star.
Clench down your strength, box-tree and ironbark.
Break with your violent root the virgin rock.
Draw from the flying dark its breath of dew
till the unliving come to life in you.
Be over the blind rock a skin of sense,
under the barren height a slender dance...
I woke and saw the dark small trees that burn
suddenly into flowers more lovely that the white moon.
On Nov 6, 2014, at 7:23 AM, Jill Jones <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Max, a quick perusal of reviews indicates it's not merely British
> poems and songs about trains. Some of the songs include the obvious,
> The Midnight Special, and something from the magnificence of Flanders
> and Swann. I do hope they included one of my favourite Judith Wright
> poems, 'The Trains', an early poem of hers written during WWII, 'the
> trains go north with guns'.
> J
> ________________________Jill Jones www.jilljones.com.au
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Poetryetc: poetry and poetics"
> To:
> Cc:
> Sent:Thu, 6 Nov 2014 07:11:21 +1100
> Subject:Re: Snap The Dance
>
> I haven't, Max. Thanks for the alert.
> Cheers,Jill
> ________________________Jill Jones www.jilljones.com.au
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Poetryetc: poetry and poetics"
> To:
> Cc:
> Sent:Thu, 6 Nov 2014 07:06:35 +1100
> Subject:Re: Snap The Dance
>
> anybody seen this book yet? -
>
> Train Songs edited by Sean O'Brien and Don Paterson ...
> www.theguardian.com › Arts › Books › Poetry
> The Guardian
> Nov 1, 2013 - As serendipity would have it, Sean O'Brien and Don
> Paterson have placed "The Railway Children" first in Train Songs. For
> some, in our ...
> Train Songs: An Anthology: Don Paterson, Sean O'Brien ...
> www.amazon.com/Train-Songs-Anthology../0571217761
> Amazon.com
> Train Songs: An Anthology [Don Paterson, Sean O'Brien] on Amazon.com.
> * FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This is the night mail
> crossing
> the border, ...
> Book review: Train Songs, Edited by Sean O'Brien and Don ...
> www.independent.co.uk › Arts + Ents › Books › Reviews
> The Independent
> Nov 1, 2013 - Why a poetry anthology based around trains and train
> travel? Because, its editors Sean O'Brien and Don Paterson explain,
> there is no ...
>
> On Nov 6, 2014, at 6:59 AM, Jill Jones wrote:
>
>> Good to hear you share my feeling about them. The Stockholm
>> underground (tunnelbana) isn't as extensive as classic networks
> such
>> as the Parisian metro, there are only three lines plus another set
> of
>> commuter lines, but my journeys on it are quite long getting to the
>> uni, and it is certainly packed at most times.
>> In Adelaide I did not use a train for year; the system is not big
>> either, but I am so glad now our house in Adelaide is on a train
> line.
>> It feels as if my world is right again.
>>
>> ________________________Jill Jones www.jilljones.com.au
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Poetryetc: poetry and poetics"
>> To:
>> Cc:
>> Sent:Wed, 5 Nov 2014 12:47:02 -0700
>> Subject:Re: Snap The Dance
>>
>> I absolutely love trains, Jill, and feel that in such motion there
> is
>> a
>> release that brings about a great opening for creating. You've done
> a
>> gorgeous job here.
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 12:40 PM, Jill Jones wrote:
>>
>>> Many thanks, Sheila. There is something about the moments and
>> movement
>>> of trains, especially underground systems. Coupled with the fact
> of
>>> signs advertising a new production of Strindberg's Dance of Death.
>>> Which could be worth getting a ticket for, except it is in
> Swedish.
>>> Jill
>>> ________________________Jill Jones www.jilljones.com.au
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Poetryetc: poetry and poetics"
>>> To:
>>> Cc:
>>> Sent:Wed, 5 Nov 2014 11:35:26 -0700
>>> Subject:Re: Snap The Dance
>>>
>>> Jill, I find this moving as a moment in time that encompasses all
>>> tenses.
>>> Thank you for this. Lovely. Sheila
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Jill Jones wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> THE DANCE
>>>>
>>>> Minutes hover in trains, everything is
>>>>
>>>> a forecast from an old future
>>>>
>>>> the new one is still variable in the making
>>>>
>>>> a misremembered song from the past
>>>>
>>>> the girl opposite is nodding her dreamy head
>>>>
>>>> ‘you are receiving from the year’ of your birth
>>>>
>>>> of your death, dying on trains while
>>>>
>>>> the ordnings vakt guys stand by preserving
>>>>
>>>> old acts of impurity in the name you clean with
>>>>
>>>> among the tall houses on the east side
>>>>
>>>> everyone watches to see what kind of soul
>>>>
>>>> emerges, grey answers, double delicious
>>>>
>>>> is it about amnesty, painted rainbows
>>>>
>>>> reading suspended clocks on the red line
>>>>
>>>> the dödsdansen around the doors
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ________________________
>>>> Jill Jones www.jilljones.com.au
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
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