Writing a book that is and is not the story of my father
Poems in the haze of bushfires Part III
Poems in the haze of bushfires Part III
25-27 December 2019
Camping at Pinch River, Kosciusko National Park NSW
Found objects
at the camp site
A footy ball
A rusted hammer
Size twelve men’s black canvas shoes
A green and purple tennis ball
Sunglasses missing one lens
What else has been
left behind?
Camp site Pinch River, Kosciusko National Park, Australia
What hopes dreams
prayers
words
hugs
games
music
occurred
at this campground?
Were lives changed
enriched
enjoyed
from being here?
Who is to know?
Only trash
burned out campfires
left behind
Someone built
a rock dam
We enjoy the pool
as do the birds
kangaroos
who come by
for a drink
and watch us
watching
Pamela crossing the Pinch River, Kosciusko National Park
Sadness comes and goes
Beauty of the trees
the creek
Sadness of the grey haze
Smoke of bushfires
cover the sky
devour the land
Where is the future?
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. I have a B.A. from Stanford University and a M.Sc. from Cornell University. I have lived and worked in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, California as well as in Washington, DC. Outside the United States, I lived and worked in Venezuela, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Uganda, Somalia and Kenya. I currently live in Canberra, Australia.
I edited three books: Bold Plum: with the Guerillas in China's War against Japan by Hsiao Li Lindsay; Peace and Milk: Scenes of Northern Somalia by James Lindsay and Fatima Jibrell; and Solo vale si piensas rápido by Mehedy Lopez, a book of poetry in Spanish. In 2016, I published a book of my poetry and drawings, Silence Spoken.
I have taught communication skills, English as a second language, and English for journalists (in Beijing, China) at university and secondary school levels. I was a features writer for the Daily Journal, (Caracas, Venezuela), and The Chronicle of Higher Education. I am a member of the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Writers Centre, active in a writers’ group and a contributor to poetry readings, That Poetry Thing, in Canberra, Australia.
View all posts by Pamela Collett
One thought on “Poems in the haze of bushfires Part III”
I loved the way you brought these things to life via the possible stories of people connected to them. To me, it feels like such a romantic and optimistic dream state!
I loved the way you brought these things to life via the possible stories of people connected to them. To me, it feels like such a romantic and optimistic dream state!
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