George, Gang-gangs, garfish / did you see the Black Cockatoo?
Montague Cole (University of Melbourne, Australia)
cerulean seas glisten bedazzled jewels / where garfish poke spears at fog-stained skies / audiences of ancient gums jive / to staccato of cicada / in the cyclic charm of wind rustling / amidst the squawk of four yellow suns / crested in charcoal-feathered cheeks / a cool orange burn meanders / between scars among swathes of green / daggers indelible / carving hollowed space for Gang-gang pairs / to trade and stare and snivel scarlet heads / at homes with circular pools / above seas / aquariums for lowly passer’s-by / to observe aristo-mermaids / sipping chardonnay / as three yellow suns remain / howls of jovial cries sing / in reminiscence of George’s 1st VIII / a fleshy microplastic feast / enjoyed with jet-ski entrails / twisting in moonah / tremoring boughs / formally thrumming to dancing mizzle / the clips of dragonflies quiver / as dark panels hide two sun-gold orbs / distant smoke begins to rise / clouds of marching malevolent grey / a shearwater stalks tidal exposed / where sea-surgeon fins slice sea skin / in artful strokes across walls of glass / a sole yellow-disc disperses / in sideway-skyward glide / as families collect shells / to bother them / to relinquish a cherished capture / with wrecks of child laughter / I wander on / a plastic lung wheezes in the wind / where is that smoke coming from / why are my feet wet / the sky is silenced by plumes of ash / bottles of brine swim where chardonnay once entered / a flash of sun-tails flit in licking flames / more laughter / everything is fine / king tides lash the circular pool / sandcastles crumble in darkness
Montague Cole lives and writes on Minjungbal Country, Bundjalung Nation. He is undertaking a Masters of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing at the University of Melbourne, online. He grew up in Warrnambool.
