I'm training my eyes
I'm training my eyes to see moving pinpricks
Across the terrain of hair and freckles that
Mask the targets
My limbs a landscape hiding terrorist mites
That bite
My groin leaving red dots, like texta spots
And what, morbid curiosity demands
Other tiny beasts feed off me?
To wish for a king
There's an election coming
And I can't quite grasp at any of it
Slippery stuff, vaporous words
Images of stern men, rolled sleeves
A yearning
For courage, authenticity
To see the horizon and beyond
Noble face of the king
Takes great strides through sucking mud
Where leeches, toads and lurking monsters
Creatures of those shallow depths grasp
Shake them off, look ahead
When your legs ache
Remember your wings
Large, outstretched across broad shoulders
Shed the swamp life, putrid and heavy
Lift and blaze
Spectacular in morning radiance
And we will crown you
Praise you
Uncritical, loving
We elect you
Our leader
The ruined hill
the ruined hill
hot in the western sun
a receding fringe of gums
tall at the summit
once the hill sloped gracefully
green to lower ground
until machines tore it ragged
dusty brown and jagged
the quarry is closed
still truckers and diggers grind
shifting rock and stones
plateaus for future homes
the casual lift, explosive shatter
the endless drumming hammer
of rocks buried deeply
for longer than imagining
no subtle alteration
it's a crude operation
this strange dissection
through the belly of a ruined hill
The frame
In miniature, dawn reveals
The hilly suburb
Rail bridge, cars crawling
The view from my hospital window
Newly awoken
Inside, in here, stillness
Quiet momentarily
The distress of 3am newborns
Resolved and other mothers sleep
For now
I'm sitting on sturdy chair
Stretch cotton nightie
Baby to my breast in this pale light
My newest success
Memory has framed this view
Of life dawning
Love nestled quietly
In a sure footed chair
Years on, that honeyed perfection
The bliss of triumphant togetherness
Soothes the shock of his rage, his energy
The boy who never stops
For Bede
Clare Locke is a graphic design honours graduate from Swinburne University's National School of Design. She situates her work in the context of social justice and human dignity, and a concern for sustainability and the environment. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Reflections in Madonna magazine.