Accessibility Tools

  • Content scaling 100%
  • Font size 100%
  • Line height 100%
  • Letter spacing 100%

Dawn Solo

by
June–July 2020, no. 422

Dawn Solo

by
June–July 2020, no. 422

First light beside the Murray in Mildura,
Which like a drift of mist pervades
The eucalypt arcades,
A pale caesura

Dividing night and day. Two, three clear notes
To usher in the dawn are heard
From a pied butcherbird,
A phrase that floats

So slowly through the silence-thickened air,
Those notes, like globules labouring
Through honey, almost cling
And linger there.

Or is it that the notes themselves prolong
The time time takes, to make it stand,
Morning both summoned and
Called back by song.

Comment (1)

  • Love it! The appropriately paced unfolding of the description/story, the images "silence thickened air...", "like globules labouring through honey..." etc.
    Also congratulations on writing a poem thatoffered me a prosody to enjoy, and for the enormous courage (in these most bizarre times, poetically speaking - forget about Covid-19, poetry has been sick for a long time) of using rhyme! It is used well.
    Bravo!
    Posted by Daniel Ionita
    29 July 2020

Leave a comment

If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.

If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.

Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.