States of Poetry - Poems

'Midwinter Sketch' by Jules Leigh Koch | States of Poetry SA - Series Two

by Jules Leigh Koch •

States of Poetry South Australia - Series Two

States of Poetry - Poems

'Midwinter Sketch' by Jules Leigh Koch | States of Poetry SA - Series Two

by Jules Leigh Koch •

States of Poetry South Australia - Series Two

1.
the barbed-wire sounds
of crows
has fetched out the sun
from behind
the ridge

daybreak
has saddles up
the sky

2.
along the river
the mist is chain
smoking

otherwise the only
bright moments

are the small hoof prints
of sunlight

treading
over paddocks

3.
a river
untethered
at one end

its muscular frame
is narrowing out

and browning
as it stretches across
the plain

a rubber band

4.
a herd of caravans
are grazing
waterside

from a camp site
a fishing line
has been cast out

holding the river
in place
like an anchor

Jules Leigh Koch

Jules Leigh Koch was born in Sydney and raised in Adelaide. He is the author of five poetry collections and has been a recipient of two South Australian Literature grants in 2008 and 2011. He has conducted poetry workshops in schools and colleges and at the South Australian Writers Centre. He has also worked as a mentor for emerging poets from Friendly Street Poets and the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust. His professional life is spent working with children with special needs in educational settings.