It’s whether you win or lose
The excised organ contained the growth. No spread.
Relief snags his breath and in that hiccup of time
he fears the rise of tears not shed since boyhood.
He thanks a deity retrieved after Diagnosis Day.
She stares across the desk at the surgeon
and emotion, long held in, escapes her too.
Before, affection was assumed, the two arrived
and left as one but worked the crowd alone.
Heedless now of peopled space, in months to come
she’ll reach to touch his arm, his cheek, his lips,
mid-sentence, mid-thought, turn back and search
his face, calling for the replay that will reassure.
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