Clearing the Field
Our ploughing will uncover them
scattered like angry words
wilful and defiant against us
So we follow the trailer in gangs
All day lifting and carrying
removing their protest from the field
Each spring a new uprising
punctures this earth, thwarts our purpose
to tame this land for harvest.
We cling to our beloved soil
though it thins through each bitter season
and the rocks shatter our blades.
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