Peter Jeffrey: Two Poems
Rhyming Saskatchewan
In Canada, a fashion show,
An urban myth, though, now it seems,
Invited Isabella Blow
To realize their fondest dreams.
She said, “I rhyme with wow, not woe”
The girls replied, “We know, we know”
And with nudges, winks and snickers
Whispered, “She’s not wearing knickers”.
But you, O queen of fashionistas,
Have scared the pants off all the sisters
And outraged every mother’s son
In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
With all the bad-ass hats you’ve worn.
Peter Jeffrey
Nipples
If you were God could you think of a better way to finish off a breast
And sign off on this work as simply your best?
Male and female created He them
But let’s make it perfectly clear
It’s solely the latter that we’re concerned with
In what we’re considering here.
Pale pink, or apricot, indigo even, or umber,
Don Juan himself would delight in reciting a hymn to the glorious number.
Yet if the glad day when they rained from the heavens were ever to literally come,
I fear that I’d be the sole man on the planet
Left bitterly sucking his thumb.
Peter Jeffrey
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