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OWEN BULLOCK

Somewhere in that mass of rock

extreme heat
under each tree
a thin patch of shade

spray of dust
dog
terriers the ball

7pm
a schoolkid pulls
a wheelie

wanting
a quick fix, I look at
the stars

you water the garden . . .
oregano drifts in

surrendering
your love flows
over me

rain
on the outdoor chair
summer’s end

a leaf turns over
peewees peck
as the earth wobbles

you call me Jock
in my old brown
moleskin jacket

swirling winds
the tennis coach
serves a leaf

autumn
my steps
echo

hello, rock
I like the way
you’ve turned pink

ripples through dark water dusk takes the duck and I

the poets
want nice imagery . . . rubbish
round the wharf

somewhere
in that mass of rock
a tiny fissure
cracks open

conference –
I start worrying about my
teeth

what’s compassion . . .
evening star
in the sky

grey cloud
white corellas
flock

raindrops
in the headlights, raindrops
raindrops bouncing off the road

grumpy
but your perfume
melts me

don’t stop singing, magpie
because I
happen along

spirits
cavort in leaves
windswirl

brown water
after so much rain
tears won’t come

graffitied
the bark
shedding

getting older
looking like my ancestors . . .
but for now it’s spring

wattle bird
half-scoffs a dragonfly
the rest to its young

long after dinner
the basil
on my hands

mist across the oval crater of muted light

Remembrance Day
silence     the water spill
on the floor

through flowers’ light-strewn edges to the cosmos’ end

in the silence
the aircon murmurs
a prayer

Christmas morning
the snail trails
on the carpet

will death
be a vision of light
late afternoon
sun on the peach tree

frangipani
and pigeon . . .
the way you click
your glasses shut

some little circle
in an iron gate
celebrates my name

emergency admissions
do you have a religion
he yawns



Owen Bullock has published three collections of poetry, five books of haiku and a novella, the most recent being Summer Haiku (2019) and Work & Play (2017). He has a website for his research into poetry and process, at Poetry in Process. He teaches creative writing at the University of Canberra.