On the rise leading up to the dam   

                its dense clumps of reed

stirring gently in mud  

in amongst the stand of black wattles and soft

                       grey-green haze of spindly

melaleuca           a mob

of cockatoos     maraud      from tree to

           tree            ripping at bark         burrowing

for insects    laughing and

chattering       shrieking bandsaws

            in the early spring sunlight       that

catches at sap       shimmers

leaves          their bodies     are large

            black sails         flapping and swinging     between

branches    they rise   together

calling into crispness            the pungent blue

                     vivid yellow flashing in

lift of stately wing      stirring up small

grey fantails       as they go  

          twirling and diving        

                         in puffs of ruffled air

Thanks to Phillip Hall and Jillian Hall for publishing this poem in Burrow (September 2021)

A reminder that 2020 Shelter in Place kicks off next week at the G3 Gallery in Parkdale. A series of cross-media responses to the various intensities of last year, 2020 Shelter in Place is a collaborate exploration in poetry and paint. from me and visual artist Sharon Monagle. Please also note that you will need to register for your free ticket via the links below (to meet Covid-safe requirements).

We would love to see you at the Opening of the exhibition and Launch of the book of the project (Liquid Amber Press) next Thursday April 15, 6-8, and/or at the Poetry Reading and Artist Talk, Saturday May 1, 2-4.

Opening of exhibition and launch of book, Thursday April 15, 6-8

Poetry Reading and Artist Talk, Saturday May 1, 2-4

We’re really looking forward to sharing our work with you!

My new collaborative exhibition, 2020 Shelter in Place with visual artist Sharon Monagle, opens at the Kingston G3 Gallery Space in Parkdale. Emerging from the realities of ‘friendship in isolation,’ these conversations in poetry and paint track us through that strange year.

• Opening and Launch by poet Anne M. Carson, 6-8pm Thursday April 15.
• Interactive Poetry Reading and Artist Talk, 2-4pm Saturday May 1

The exclusive book of the project/exhibition (Liquid Amber Press), including both poems and paintings, will be available at the Gallery.

We hope to see you there!

We may still be in lockdown, but it is Spring and that at least needs celebrating!

Conditions for Joy

A seed        incipient      lodging in the right soil       an attention     

patient    to the act of watering         the warmth of lengthening days and the quiet

dark of build and slip and        incremental           unfurling

Blackbird

In warmth of sunshine      and sudden bursts of rain         a blackbird

sings his territory    to me      from fig tree   to lemon   to bougainvillea            his small body

vibrating     with expostulation     and cadence     and the seriousness of his season

What it means to be busy

Their springtime nest      tunnelled   into a warm bank of earth   the spotted pardalotes

are busy as                          a Buddhist monk                    doing chores and

basking            in the first shimmer       of morning light