I come in from the garden
the light balanced in my hand

palette of onion spinach and chives
Monet busy beating eggs

fluoro yellow from grass fed birds
the colour is outrageous –

we discuss the pale limitations
of the cheese.

My crew of indigo crows
slide glistening pastry in the oven

then mix oil and vinegar
for giant salads of waterlily leaves

rain shakes itself free from convention
Monet hands me a parasol

a vase of poppies, a sunrise
but the pastry needs a little longer

it’s a patient wait for lunch
the quiche a collage of perfection

shining on the bench.
My impression is Monet likes this.

Christine Paice

 

Christine Paice is a poet and writer. She has published two poetry collections, Mad Oaks and Staring at the Aral Sea (Ginninderra Press), and her children’s book, The Great Rock Whale (Hachette Australia). She was winner of the Josephine Ulrick Award for poetry in 2009 with ‘The Ministry of Going In’. Her poem, ‘The Quality of Light’, was shortlisted for the Blake Poetry Prize 2013. Christine’s debut adult fiction novel, The Word Ghost was published by Allen & Unwin in 2014.

© 2018