The Fell of Day
after Hopkins
Yes, I’ve spent black hours fretting
but today, I slipped into my car,
drove to Port Quinn’s turquoise
triangle of luminous sea, its curves
and crevasses of a coast unafraid
of complexity, down lanes
that have no passing places,
yet, we passed nevertheless,
through tunnels of flickering
mustard, bright splodges of mallow,
grass dense and smooth, lifting
like the girl’s hair in the breeze.
She was mending a broken wall
in the sunshine, smiled hello—
yes, I’ve tasted bitterness
and sour self-loathing
but today, I slipped into my car
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
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
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