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