Glenn McPherson: ‘A Cathedral of Rocks’
A Cathedral of Rocks
A bush wren is taken by a golden snake
Before my eyes. Summer’s ugly heat is still
In the footbridge from yesterday.
Lantana, like emblazoned clown pubes
Or children’s coloured popcorn belittles
Such a death. In Australia, the black snakes
Are laconic but no less dangerous.
An obsession with origins is necessary
For the naturalist. Naturally, we consider
How the rocks were named, and when, for a moment
Then continue on to the beach—for I
Am no naturalist. Is it odd to hear
The dividing waves break so far off, as if
Filled with all the negative space of the cliffs?
Confessions of seafoam and weed, make
Themselves at home. It is no Sistine chapel
But it is always nice to have a little shade,
A little respite afforded by the cave.
Closing both eyes just enough could pass
For salvation of a sort, at least until the
Seagulls descend on the bait fish in the gully.
Then again, these too, form from elementary
Aspersions: birds dive while fish leap
Into…
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