this earth is nearly luminous – John Bartlett

this is the hour when the gods
twist time into question marks	when
 
we believe we are suspended
only by Jacaranda blue               	carried
 
on the fragile wings of dragonflies
searching for certainty               	up
 
high above the magpies’ lingering
chant of adhan
 
will earth crack open yet again
plunge us into the arms  of Seraphims
 
I yearn for the company of trees
listen for the lessons of  their babbling leaves
 
if the red-faced finch can find
home near water 	make fine nests
 
out of  ripening courage, why does this
sacred solid earth shift and drift
 
everywhere we roam                     
as if unmoored

John Bartlett is the author of eight books-fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  He was the winner of the 2020 Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize and Highly Commended in the 2021 Mundaring Poetry Competition.  He reviews and podcasts at beyondtheestuary.com and lives on the southern coast of Australia outside Geelong. Twitter: @beyond_estuary

Photography by Anne Leigh Parrish