Katherine Gallagher: I could have been born in a taxi
I could have been born in a taxi
speeding in at the last minute
through Maldon’s volcanic hills,
chasing history and voices—
so much gone like the gold;
and, a mini-volcano-in-waiting: me,
setting the pace as it were—
my mother concentrating,
contractions, such raw minutes …
I wasn’t ready yet to be born;
too soon for she and I
to meet face to face, hold
a real conversation,
me with my strange eye
on everything.
Hang on, I thought, is this journey
likely to be all it’s cracked up to be—
my mother wanting me to get a move on,
her efforts surely deserving a medal.
Such a busy time for her, she said—real work,
and I, new chum, about to learn the beauty out there
to be settled in the eye of the beholder.
Katherine Gallagher
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