THE SECULAR WORLD

Assembling a poem on Southern Highland tradies admiring dawn for Inkerman & Blunt's new anthology of secular poems. Let's see what becomes of it. LJ, June25 2014.

JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME

Peter Greste sentenced to 7 years jail for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Are you bloody kidding? What a sham. What a disgrace. On Twitter, Mike Carlton is calling for the expulsion of the Egyptian ambassador and a change in our diplomatic/trade relations with Egypt. Not a bad idea. I hope international pressure forces the Egyptian government to somehow reverse their decision. LJ, June 24 2014.

QUITE POSSIBLY THE GREATEST AUSTRALIAN ALBUM EVER PRODUCED

AT THE BASE OF PLUMWOOD MOUNTAIN

The following poem was shortlisted for the next issue of Plumwood Mountain. Sooty Owls are one of the Australian birds that most impress me. Charcoal-grey with white spots, they favour valleys sporting dense eucalypt woodlands, are rarely seen, offer up falling bomb calls and shifting trills, possess massive dark eyes and intimidating talons. Not a bird you'd want to piss off. The first Sooty I ever saw was in the Devils Coach House at Jenolan Caves, one of the most sublime/gothic places in NSW. The poem here is factual and from an experience in 2012. I dedicate it to an old mate who's a fine birder.

SOOTY OWL
For Steve Edwards

As you had never met
a Sooty Owl before,

I guided us to Kioloa's
thinning upland reaches

fifteen minutes after
the horizon gulped daylight,

targeted a knotted gully, cast
a long line of Sooty-mimicry

into bleeding emerald gloom
for ten shivery minutes,

slowly reeled in everything
you depended upon.

LJ, June 19 2014.

FIONA WRIGHT

Sydney poet Fiona Wright visited school last Thursday and shared many insights and anecdotes with the Yr 11 Standard English cohort who are studying five poems from her terrific collection Knuckled. She also spent time with my two Extension 2 girls, both of whom are penning poetry. The students dig her work. We were privileged to have her visit. LJ, June 14 2014.

ARMADILLO

Still seduced by all things Scandinavian, I recently watched Armadillo, a Danish documentary on Danes fighting in Afghanistan. It was engaging, confronting. It made me question why the hell the west was/is over there. That big question isn't tackled in this documentary. Perhaps it's too big a question to ask - for the answer is too much to swallow or too infuriating or too overwhelming. How does one best come to grips with American imperialism and its ripples?

In Armadillo we watch Danish soldiers defend their compound (Armadillo), complete routine patrols, engage in firefights, follow up on drone intelligence, hang out, admit they're bored, talk to family back home via sat phones, tease one another, meet locals whose animals and homes they've destroyed, talk about compensating locals whose animals and homes they've destroyed, execute members of the Taliban, then be awarded for executing these members of the Taliban. We feel the soldiers' pain when one of theirs is killed. Somehow, we feel for the Taliban - still human beings - when they're brought down by heavy fire from automatic weapons, then dragged from ditches. We get the impression from the local Afghan men who speak that any western intervention will do nothing.

A couple of years ago, I spoke to a retired army colonel who said Australian forces didn't need to be in Afghanistan. What were the numbers? 40 dead? 260 seriously wounded? And so many with mental trauma. What a disgrace. I'm sure a lot of good work was done over there, but what have been the major consequences of our involvement? What great good has come of it?

So what will be the west's next great mission? Who will be the next target? Will we soon have US, British, Australian and Danish soldiers fighting in Russia or Iran? America seems to be itching for conflicts there. I feel for the thousands of vulnerable people who will one day suffer from the west's might. We need to do what we can to fight for these precious souls.

As a final side note, a hard-working student of mine recently left school to join our armed forces. I hope his journey is a safe one.

LJ, May 20 2014.

COMING SOON

Crux.

Interviews with Australian poets.

LJ, May 2 2014