POEMS
There was too much to say
so she said nothing
The words knotted their arms together
all octopus and impenetrable ocean
swam furiously
but could not find the surface
_ _ _ _
From Bullet Hole Riddle (Steele Roberts, 2014)
Cover art by Elke Finkenauer, Hang, hand-cut suede....
Last week
my friends, Cassandra
me, a small voiced wonder
minding about the world
Today telephoned
said I'm going to tell you
about yesterday
I couldn't think anything
besides hard
The world said then
lowering her voice
let me in
and, she added, hur...
My body is not a clock
it has driftwood in it
four stone adzes
a beech tree, kauri
a stand of kahikatea
in the swamp
six pieces of broken glass
on the tide line
five of them
polished smooth
My body is not a clock
it has the sound
of wind arriving in the trees
a two am cargo train
...

POEMS ON THE PAGE
A selection of poems from Miriam Barr's first major collection, Bullet Hole Riddle.