Street Level Predestination

On the 6th October 1810 the last Autocrat of Sydney, having lived 9 months in the town, found himself fidgety with feeling over the state of street names. Consequently, a notice appeared in the Sydney Gazette making known the will of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. His Excellency the governor, being extremely…

The Last Hobbit

In those days of our tale, there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors and Elrond, the master of the house, was their chief. He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf lord, as strong as a warrior,…

The Unquantification of All Things

Wine was made from water Gallons, litres, what measurement Counts miracle wine? Taste it! Swirl and catch the light Swish it around your mouth Suck in air, breath through its quality Drink deep his glory, The Uncountable Word Alpha and Omega Was and With Of God Lamb for Sin life…

Celestial Mechanics

For Evie, when she holds my hand. Arriving, we expand from the car. And I wait while you collect your stuff, the unfathomable bits of personified fluff that you have trapped in your orbit:  Soft toys; knitted ropes; lipper; crumpled notes.  The accretion disk of your formation. I, your natural…

Layering

I. Walk the trail ahead of me into the wild country at the southern end of Namadgi. An unprepossessing trail head — the first sign of beauty is the alpine swamp — but the light of the late mid-winter afternoon is already turning the moments golden. The snow grass lies crushed and…

Man’s Best Offer

A pigeon bobs between the table legs with a shawl about its neck like oil while dogs gaze with an entirety of purpose, the sharp lines of their bodies—noses, ears—converging on a human, its figure or absence. Looking at the doorway of the cafe where the owner has…

Let Me See One Last Thing

For Evie When you see what I have seen And see it better When you love what I love, and better, Then let my hand slip from yours Do not grasp And let me fall behind you on the strand And pass Let me see one last thing you have…

The Way In

An encounter between our hero and a stranger on a hilltop.  An observatory, the creaking sounds of telescopes moving in the dark, the white domes the only things visible in the pine forest. Creeping in along the road past the locked gate, no cars allowed – light pollution. The door-keeper to…