Matthew Goldrick: ‘What’s that?’
What’s that?
Climate changes everything.
Is that what they’re saying?
I remember when hot winds blew
trips to the local pool
and orange flares on the horizon
singled summer, not panic.
There were no water restrictions,
you drew what was needed.
We all got fed.
We walked slim;
we cycled effortlessly, in trousers.
The corner store didn’t overcharge.
And the chemist knew our names,
dispensing Compazine or Kodak;
depending on the season.
We could tell the strange ones at church,
yet attended the odd working bee.
Birthday candles burned slower
And sponges always rose.
Matthew Goldrick
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