Poems
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Circular Breathing
By Gabrielle Journey JonesBreathe in truth.
Simultaneously
Breathe out loss.
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This is Wrong Way by Lore
By Kerry Bulloojeeno Archibald MoranShe white fella wanted to take me
To jaagi maam sacred site's on wajaarr country
A place of muluurr blood, galaagarrbili sweat and budii tears
This invitation I did not mangga-bayila plan -
Takayna; Milaythina Ningi
By Theresa SaintyTAKAYNA; MILAYTHINA NINGI
(Takayna; Mother Country)
Nara Takayna; ngini paywuta
Wurangkili mulapana-nara nuritinga tunapri -
For Grandad
By Phoebe GrainerOld cowboy hat.
We were laughing
Us mob
You telling us story. -
An Heirloom of Love
By Adrian Mouhajer, Princess Arinola Adegbiteafter bell hooks
Here on my table, we share the memory of our countries,
centuries of recipes stitched into the strands of my hair, -
Willow
By Juran AdamsWritten by Juran Timu-Adams
Verse 2 written by Jack McDonald
Maori verse written by Sjionel Timu
I used to try and move mountains -
Baraya Barray - Whale Song
By Sonya HolowellI am a multidisciplinary artist, which I think reflects the way my ancestors have practised the interconnectedness of artforms. I often vocalise my written poetry, or create poetry with the potential to be musically interpreted. But more than this, poetry is pattern, and it is everywhere. Beyond mere associations to alphabetic text, poetry can be … -
Perimeter of Rectangles
By Laura PanopoulosSize one
Enervated by background noise,
recollecting my words,
they are far from push-button. -
Clipper blades and feather pillows
By Jonathan SriranganathanSnip
snip-snip
snip, snip, snip
These days, you can hear that subtle clicking almost everywhere -
Buoyancy
By Zainab SyedI.
When we consider the buoyancy of a city’s heart
There is not much that will keep it afloat -
What has been said by many and has often been said
By Pascalle Burton, Vacant Dragon à la Subverted Lipsafter Cicero’s first and second speeches on the Agrarian Law
I
stirring up trouble -
sometimes feels day and sometimes feels night
By Andrew Galan, Vacant Dragon à la Subverted LipsTrapped in this cement and brick and gypsum and nylon work
not compressed unmoving but walking and walking and walking
finding repetition or transient newness at corners but no exit
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Red Face Man
By Dylan Van Den BergRed face man don’t smile with his teeth but he clench my hand
like a purinina grips a bird by the neck.
Me and the bird the same –
Made the same promise whether we holler or hold our breath. -
I Fell
By Heather MitchellI cannot say I knew him
nor did he know me
yet somehow in the silence
between the siren and the stillness -
Gowk
By Simon ArmitageOne day I had no soul and the next
I did, like a cuckoo’s egg, so
then I was lumped with this baby ego
hatching out of the heart’s nest, -
Murmuration
By Luke Patterson'Murmuration' is a musical poem inspired by and written for Baraya Barray - Whale Song by Luke Patterson. Reflecting on this piece, Luke says:
Poetry and music are like perceptual magic tricks. They’re very good at readjusting the way we perceive space, time, memory, even ourselves. For the most part, I’m only a respectful observer of Whale… -
Monopoly
By Ella Jeffery1. Kent Road, Wooloowin
the landlord sold in under a fortnight.
took us by surprise. we packed up -
Side Dish
By Vacant Dragon à la Subverted Lips, Eloise GrillsI’ve opened the no-name Australian Grated Cheese (made from Australian Milk) too early, like a cheesy patriot who sets up camp in the dark for another dawn service. Snacking is hard to avoid once a plastic seal is broken. Now I have to open the weekend wine on a Tuesday night, then I’ll preheat the oven. I’m making my mother’s special dish—a four… -
Inverted Weather
By Toby Fitch, Vacant Dragon à la Subverted LipsA car in front of you jumps out of the road like an orca and lands on its back
Kisses a spider’s web in the dried-out garden bed beside the train track
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never ask me to perform that part of the ceremony again
By Vacant Dragon à la Subverted Lips, Kate Lilleysleep by pressing a tiny button
to take away the pricking pains of the side
the green toothache
all blue spots or marks that happen therein
