eclipse
(for stoneking)
the yarra river
is narrow
hidden
it runs between
dry
land
you sent me a postcard
of the eclipse -
a white sun
stares
a full circle trammeled
by a pungent moon
desolate in shifting power
black crows
scattering
april shall soon depart
in the cruelty of a melbourne winter
i wait for you
leave the courtyard door
open at night
lest you should walk in
& find me shipwrecked
ah! what keeps you away?
has another
closed over your wounds
applying salves
as white bandages spill
from Love’s vanity case?
[clifton hill, melbourne, australia, 1997]