I’m not on drugs
or
dancing in the moonlight when
the shape of the water
shifts under me

Dugongs are breaking
in the shallows
Nothing like Bboys, Bgirls—
rappers
hip-hoppers
No jackhammers
freezes
hand-hops
airflares
headspins
kip-ups
no caps back to front

only
cows
of the sea
mild
and slow

Unglamorous beasts
in unsung rhythm in sync they graze
fields of grass among the mangroves
minding their own business

This trio performs the show of the year
under a nightclub sky
for me

But I have one question o solé mio
Where
do the
old
tired
and quiet
go to die?

Julie Maclean

 

Julie Maclean is the author of four pamphlets and one full collection. Her full collection, When I saw Jimi, was shortlisted for The Crashaw Prize (Salt) and won the Geoff Stevens Poetry Prize, UK, 2013. She lives on the Surf Coast, Victoria. www.juliemacleanwriter.com

© 2019