June 15th, 2020Bulldog Ants Strike Back
That time of grief
caused so much damage
and death. Remember the scramble
for air and light
when the blue toxic fog rolled in
and all earth’s furies were heaped
upon us. Smothered
in lies and the reek
of waste-paper islands,
as tongue flicks wiped
out our health,
homes demolished,
food supplies deemed
as expendable as pay-rises.
Scabs formed over calluses.
We felt the sprinkle
from foetid pink bats.
Our strength was taxed
beyond endurance.
Laments have gone
and we steel our thinkers
for the climb to freedom.
We redeem the song-lines
of confidence. The wind shuffles
the stars as we realign the nest.
– Gael Elliot
Gael was born in Swan Hill 1943 and finally settled in Trentham in 1998.
‘You may start a poem but the resulting words may be entirely different from what you started out to write.’
Poems for Local Lines come predominantly from a group of poets. However, other locals who would like a poem considered for publication can contact Bill Wootton – cottlesbreedge@gmail.com
