Friday, August 26, 2022

OUT THERE by Colin Young

Out there ground imprisoned by drought

longs to escape in rain. Tussocks of spinifex

inject the sky through needles.

The law of agony has sentenced

the thorny devil to wander its scorching hell.

Look over the nearest rocks and watch the sun

gloat over ants’ nests trying to reach the clouds.

Why bother to expel breath here? Better to conserve

every drop of sweat for the long haul,

for the trudge over dune-oceans, and twisted logs

sunk to the bottom of a lost water-hole.

And that dingo hobbles, hesitant,

toward nowhere, fur ruffled by hints

of wind, teeth drooling for food,

without finding a companion anywhere.

 

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