twigs
tell
furnace
cutting through
time's remnants
corpses
crushed
at feet
drift
sacrifice ram
to monkey
gods
weep
within frame
by frame
fire
storm
sense
mind's
murder
miracle
call out
cry
beloved
wait for me
out on mesa
share skin
with wind
hear out
ezekiel
he
knew
nabuchodonosor
hour
before
hours
somewhere in sewers
exalting in excrement
taste
twig
between your teeth

state towards see

if
it
possible

ask
if you have
arrived

at end

of time

dance as wave
beloved

dance as wave
beloved

but

don't approach

apparitions

now
or
after

voyage à cythere

oncoming flames

obey
omens

matter manufactures
roar

cry
come to cage

whisper
with condemned

man
is a chasm

crashing against another
beginning & end

down to earth
down
to centre of earth

blind
& bound

register tears

start
another arrangement

ends
of world

pull close

too close

colliding in shadow

flee towards east

flee towards south

flee towards north

west wretched
wind

blowing blast
beautiful & brutal

dark chilling rains
begin to fall

birds of prey
gather suns

gaze
when wounded

winds coming close

share
with shadows

hold tightly cord
wherever beyond

chart waters
caught in current
clear

go further

hell
specific geography

walk
down
valley below
below
beloved

remember glance

weep waves

turn
to count

go
down so slow

night
into night

face
pressed into granite

tears trace

so serpent sings
storm
of fire

tongue hanging out
wandering in black
rain

heading north crying
for help
howl
name
near coast

collect fishermen's bones
funeral pyre
beloved

sing another song
wolves quiet
quivering in corner

guests ghouls
inhale ice

judgement day
done deal
l

burning
bodies to cinder

still standing
up
or down

twigs in teeth

scraps of skin

scraps of skin
beloved

time
entering time

ride
night now
into village
near coast
two towns
bear name

forget route

time gone

veins still

howl until hoarse
make out word

sheets of skin
fall
to bottom
of sea

breath by breath
hear sound solemn

close mouth
of ghosts

go
down
another circle
in great fall
of flesh

remember burning bed

torn pages
burning
blue flame

bridge of dead
burned black
skins bursting

bodies
of broken glass

corpses
carried by current
to sea

river
not flowing water

stream of drifting
burned bodies
night knew
man melts

hold lamp

go on

touch
soil or sea

everything evaporates

come with chalice
run
with horsemen

come
overwhelmed by omens

grasp reeds
closer to circle

empty pages written
by absence

remember eating glass

mouth
full of rope

climb time
with tongue

clay
charnel house

drifting dead
choke crevasses

:

corpses crushed
at feet

drift
particular
dance

eden empty

circle within circle

age into age

Ice
corpses crushed
at feet

drift

come this way
again

again
lost

chart chafes
such skin

as possessed
in pyre

1.
step first

step from stone
to stone

sing
sadness

under
black sun

beautiful
ebony body

2.
feet
on
ground

legba
lifts

foot
after
foot

beat
beating

brown
earth

burning
melodies

at first
so
silent

then so

much noise
so much noise

miasma
into
miasma

you cannot
dance

nor tune
torso
to higher
fire

to higher
fire

legba
no
liar

in
higher
fire

3.
ruins
of wind

wreak path
ravaged

seas of skin
bone

flame
runs in circles
spheres dancing

go back
to bone

back to bone

twigs under twigs

heritage
between breaths

fall shadows

silhouettes
in forests

across water
birds come
clean her eyes
clean

see stone
breaking bird’s wing

remember rain

light‘s collisions

birds break
look

light gone

branch between teeth

sweat stains stone
finds you
turning around

beside
bed of death

driving
delicately
into white
on white
walls

4.
forgot
flesh

existed
in extinction

way
it waves
as faulty flags

sheets
of
skin

announcing
another
anatomy
altogether

hold
me for moment

while
i stand
on chair
wrap rope
around my neck
into fine
knot
no

to hang
as fruit

hold me
for moment

be

quiet

be quiet

being barely
greater than gravel
when having
swallowed
stones

night
to
night

threshing
flesh

hold

me

for some

time
wait

tile
will
wit

no

no

no
more

5.
go

go

go

come murder crows
in ravine

nights night
vanish

breath
late
forgotten

breath
sleep with dead
serpent

still so still

singing

so still now

in
convergent currents

wing hours

hours horse's hours

intercession impossible

grey horse
breathe before serpent

twists around torso

go
down

go further
into flame

serpents cry
die with dead

taste tissue

ribbons
flesh rubbing
against granite

go
hide in leaves

wash veil wash

wash
before breaking

tremble
as i

tremble singing

memory of sea

carnage's
communion

dance

turn

disappear

fall
follow rope

frozen
hands held out

carcass climbing carcass

ebony seas
silhouette still

trace

embrace

exterminate

tearing thread
cord
circle of blood

sentinel sightless

6.
clear soil

carnage
circles of cloth

stick

wire

count
count twigs

teeth

hell fluid

form form

end between breaths

dance

run into net
of knots

survey skin

run on ice

call

cry

sleep

wade in water

wade in water

wait death love
come vows
of vein

flesh scrub
skin scrub
earth water bound
to body

cease

stop stone's scream

still

still so

still go

come end

wretched wind

7.
loss
entrusted in songs

last
scrap skin

silence impossible

sound
fluids vital

vanish

devouring dark

heirs
sing as sailors
of sand

sea
weed

simple traces

tell body

whisper

disappear

vanish
into vein

ebony sea
swallows saliva
mucus
blood

soul swamp

fluid from slaves

call to prayer
cleanse
silhouette

before
becoming
ball of flame

8.
forest
forgotten

memory of beasts

birds under sea

ghost edifices cry

sing
in noose first
prophecy

walk in waste
matter

breathe horizon
hell

9.
veil of vipers
appearance abject

that is all

that need
to be

said
under
circumstances

so many depths
under water

we always were

10.
come
hold me
for moment

let me climb
chair

tie noose
to tree

in shade
of shades

hold me
as i tie
knot
perfectly

to last
whole

nigh
life

through

grip me
with talons
tight

claw carefully

already
initiated
into
immersion

bird breath

bend beak
over my lips

learn

how to fly
without
flight

bird
be bold

with this
body of mine

mangled
from one
end to other
yet still

beautiful beyond

belief

watch while wheels
turn
turning they
always turn

towards horizon

cruel birds come
with currents
of corpses

remember
crossing
river to calvary

trapped
in torrent

sea shadows
horizon hell

horses tremble
remember

tremble missing moment
shadows without breath

blood bubbling
from mouth

tumult turns

remember
ablutions act
of abjection

blood

water

still flesh

go flee

fall to knees

still so still
bottom of bottom

below

below crawl

follow fluid

fluid follows breath

depth of depth

caress cadaver

call

for cruel birds
to come

as always
arriving
after

for ceremony
of claws

 

 

In this solemn act of remembering, the poet pulls onto his shoulders the terrible weight of 'this world gone wrong' and bears it for us all.

Continuing a tradition of Mayakovsky and Hikmet to read to people publicly 'to confront people more than to console them', this is a social poem to 'like' and 'share' mouth to ear.

 

a tour de force, a poem memoir of great accomplishment.
Robert Adamson (SMH)

 

"a wholly absorbing mediation on, and a reclamation of, a politicisation of aesthetics."
Ali Alizadeh, Overland

 

Recommended Books of 2013
Melbourne Age