Pigeons
Dael Allison (UTS, Australia)
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and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
phone wires zither feather bags
opaque as a thundercloud one second
a shimmer apart the next
where does that grey originate?
pillows for dreams flying kisses
curdled light shoals
chagall’s lovers over chimneystacks
leunig’s curly creatures
coalesced cumulus
not a shred
that isn’t knitted into vapour skeins
iridescent angels
brighter than phosphorous
luminous as coal
they fan the sky with pleating
come together like fingers
* First line from e e cummings, Buffalo Bill’s
* Last line from W S Merwin, A Tree
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Dael Allison has won numerous awards for poetry, essays and an unpublished novel. Her recently completed Masters in Creative Arts at UTS interprets the life of artist Ian Fairweather in poetry. Fairweather’s Raft, her second volume of poetry, was published this year by Walleah Press. Dael currently lives in Kiribati in the central Pacific – a perfect place for writing.
