Topic Tags:
0 Comments

Graham Walker: ‘Roundel on a Piece of Driftwood’

Graham Walker

Nov 30 2023

1 mins

 

Roundel on a Piece of Driftwood   

 

Our lives are told in the run of ebb and flow,

    keen edge and dull, sharp summer shade, blunt winter cold,

of light and dark, laid down inside us. And so

    our lives are told

 

as this driftwood’s is, its story clear. Old

    seasons there—soft spring-wood hollowed, worn down low,

fall-into-winter thinner, tougher, bold

 

as sinews flexed for a harder striving. That slow

    hard-going stiffened, braced it—saved it—left shore-shoaled

and stranded. We have seasons yet, but know

    our lives are told.

Graham Walker

 

Comments

Join the Coversation

Already a member?

What to read next

  • Letters: Authentic Art and the Disgrace of Wilgie Mia

    Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.

    Aug 29 2024

    6 mins

  • Aboriginal Culture is Young, Not Ancient

    To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case

    Aug 20 2024

    23 mins

  • Pennies for the Shark

    A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten

    Aug 16 2024

    2 mins