Echidna Tracks: Issue 5Open Theme

Echidna Tracks: Issue 5: Open Theme (June 2020 - September 2020)

These poems were all based on experiences of life in Australia, and were originally published, one a day, on Echidna Tracks Australian Haiku website: https://echidnatracks.com as Echidna Tracks: Issue 5: Open Theme from June 2020 to September 2020. The full edition including imagery may be found on the Echidna Tracks website.

Editorial: Lyn Reeves, Simon Hanson, Lynette ArdenCover Art: Simon Hanson (front), Andrew Reeves (back)Book and website design: Lynette ArdenEchidna Tracks Australian Haiku website: https://echidnatracks.com

Copyright All written and graphic work appearing in Echidna Tracks: Issue 4: Recrea-tion and Leisure is protected under Copyright Laws and may not be repro-duced, reprinted or re-transmitted or altered in any form without express written consent from the authors.

Haiku Authors

Maeve ArchibaldLynette ArdenLaurel AstleGavin AustinIngrid BaluchiTony BeyerNathalie BucklandOwen BullockRobyn CairnsRoss CowardStella DamarjatiGary Colombo de PiazziJan DobbMarisa FazioGlenys FergusonLorin FordKatherine GallagherBeverley GeorgeLorraine HaigHazel HallSimon HansonLouise HopewellMarilyn HumbertSamantha Sirimanne HydeLeanne JaegerJudith E.P. JohnsonKeitha KeyesKristen LangJohn LowMyron LysenkoMarietta McGregorIrene McGuirePeter MacrowMargaret Mahoney

K.V. MartinsMark MillerRon C. MossLeanne MumfordPaul MurrayJan NapierElizabeth NichollsMadhuri PillaiVanessa ProctorKatherine RaineIvan RandallLyn ReevesCarol ReynoldsDuncan RichardsonKent RobinsonPhilip SchofieldRob ScottMaureen SextonNathan SidneySandra SimpsonSheila SondikTom StaudtJennifer SutherlandBarbara TateBarbara A. TaylorJulie ThorndykeJahan TysonRose van SonMira WalkerJane WilliamsQuendryth Young

7

first lighta day shapedby clouds

Gary Colombo De Piazzi

driveway vigils —a nine-year-old blows trumpetto herald Anzac dawn

Beverley George

dawn drivewaythe last bugle notes floatthrough birdsong

Myron Lysenko

Good Friday . . .in some distant backyarda rooster crows

Jan Dobb

8

twenty-twentya new memberof the cloud-watching club

Robyn Cairns

facesin the clouds . . .missing you

Margaret Mahony

self-isolationI take more timeto look within

Samantha Sirimanne Hyde

global pandemicmy Peace Lilyin full bloom . . .

Leanne Jaeger

9

leaf by leafthe Japanese maplebecomes autumn

Irene McGuire

self-isolationin the leaf-strewn yarda bare hills hoist

Myron Lysenko

backyard bluesthe dog and a magpiekeep their distance

Madhuri Pillai

how bluethe Autumn sky todaycanary song

Kent Robinson

10

city courtyardmy neighbour sharesthe Sunday morning opera

Lynette Arden

Hungarian Rhapsodyswirling through the houseautumn leaves

Leanne Jaeger

after the downpoura puddle of maple leaves

Irene McGuire

autumn sunstill warm on my faceher last breath

Maeve Archibald

11

mostly Marchif only plum seasonwould never end

Rose van Son

farmer’s marketa basket of appleswaiting to be picked

Irene McGuire

iso life —backyard blackbirda new best friend

Robyn Cairns

rainbow lorikeetsthe wheeling flockchanges colour

Quendryth Young

12

into the nightgoes the last bus homemoon in the trees

John Low

lockdown —each dusk a coo-ee reassuresdon’t worry we are here

Beverley George

april night leaves resting their colours

Robyn Cairns

intruderthe midnight clackof the dog door

Barbara Tate

13

a brush-tail possumscolds another brush-tail possum. . . longest night

Lorin Ford

old chest of drawersnewspaper liners declarethe war is over

Glenys Ferguson

old wedding ringbottom drawerbehind the socks

Paul Murray

autumn sadnessa tram passesempty

Peter Macrow

14

replacement busthe widower smilesat the widow

Myron Lysenko

new daya cloud slidesoff the sun

Leanne Jaeger

kindy classrooma first legon the tadpole

Glenys Ferguson

water disha frog swims the lengthof a pear leaf

Mira Walker

15

galloping ponies the length of the paddock

Jennifer Sutherland

winter moonthe black colt bluein drifting mist

Gavin Austin

in early frostthe brumbies huddle . . .I miss your hugs

Tom Staudt

through the wingsof the blue tigerthe blue sky

Laurel Astle

16

plasticinein father’s big handstiny dinosaurs

Judith E.P. Johnson

museum cabinetall the songbirdsstitched silent

Marietta McGregor

still watching usyear after yearaquarium fish

Simon Hanson

two pelicans drifting moonlit shadows

Leanne Mumford

17

sycamoremirrored in morning lightsilent river

Margaret Mahony

the riverlost in my childhoodI hear its song

Gavin Austin

morning song —a kookaburra chorusshakes the river

Katherine Gallagher

vibrant lightthrough the curtainsthe wattle’s shadow

Hazel Hall

18

the waythe pears sit upin the bowl

Owen Bullock

afternoon shadows —just the oneripple on the pool

Julie Thorndyke

deep covera pademelon’swatchful eyes

Lorraine Haig

cold skyloping ahead of the rainblack cockatoos

John Low

19

cold rainfence post and frogmouth

theonegrey

Lorin Ford

with such gracethe black cockatoos arrivesnow on the mountain

Kent Robinson

cold windfrom the black seathe crescent moon

Peter Macrow

winter deepens the love call of a lone tree frog

Marisa Fazio

20

blackbird songsunrise seepsthrough bare branches

Gavin Austin

salt lake . . .the time it takesthe flies to find me

Sandra Simpson

cooinda mista river snake curls arounda jabiru’s beak

Vanessa Proctor

river cruisefirst sunsetthen fireflies & stars

Ivan Randall

21

big wetstarting with a whisperthe flowering heartwaters

Nathan Sidney

Countrylosing myself in the dotson her canvas

Marisa Fazio

musk-coloured skythe ancient pencil pinebrushed with twilight

Ron C. Moss

planting moonthe mountain’s own namesfor its flowers

Nathan Sidney

22

sundown glow on cave walls ochre-limned palm prints

Mark Miller

deportationhugs and crying underthe welcome sign

Maureen Sexton

an Australian flagflutters in the windmy home?

Stella Damarjati

carparkthe lingering aromaof crushed gumnuts

Quendryth Young

23

Brunswick hotelghost smellof roll yr owns

Tony Beyer

Murrumbidgeea trickle of brown waterpast the old brewery

Vanessa Proctor

Goorooyarroowe walk upto the sky

Owen Bullock

skydive cancelled in its place his letting-go breath

Jane Williams

24

breakingour silencethe winning goal

Rob Scott

mid-summer heatmum’s cotton wool blobson the Christmas tree

Ingrid Baluchi

southerly buster —our best laid plansin disarray

Keitha Keyes

late summer sunsetpink bellied galahsrise in a cloud

Jennifer Sutherland

25

disappearing languagescribbly gumsat twilight

Sandra Simpson

sweltering heatanother smoky nightwith the scarlet moon

Barbara A. Taylor

ashremnants of bushwindblown

Maeve Archibald

the Fire Chiefgives the widow a medal —her foetus kicks

Philip Schofield

26

breaking droughta magpie opens wingsto the rain

Quendryth Young

ancient middensperiwinkle shellsthreaded with light

Ron C. Moss

shallow tarnwhich is reedwhich is shadow

Ross Coward

ochre sunsetthe sky comes alivewith flying foxes

Vanessa Proctor

27

dusk stillnessjust my breathand pobblebonk song

Elizabeth Nicholls

gathering darkthe wind sings mea deeper song

Marietta McGregor

biting southerlythe missing cornerof the moon

Louise Hopewell

leavesflutter the quietrain

Gary Colombo De Piazzi

28

breath of winda leaf about to falllifts a little

Jan Dobb

afterthe chainsawstoo much sky

Elizabeth Nicholls

talking climate change —temperatures risein the living room

Rob Scott

on the clotheslineshirts slapped by a hot wind . . .she’s leaving

K.V. Martins

29

family riftclouds drift acrossa full moon

Carol Reynolds

a possumon her black branch —moon crossing

Kristen Lang

family secretsthe twisted vinesof wisteria

Marilyn Humbert

milky wayscattered on a summer nighttiny frog-chirps

Katherine Raine

30

jewel boxgreat grandmother’sprecious stories

Judith E.P. Johnson

my daughters’private lives —Wollemi pines

Sheila Sondik

closed curtainsthe expansive narrativeof night rain

Madhuri Pillai

scanning old snapsmy family tree fillswith unknown faces

Marietta McGregor

starry skyall grown up stilljoining the dots

Jane Williams

worn stoneletting goof dreams

Jahan Tyson

street caféthe sign on the wall saysI’m loved

Lynette Arden

deserted streetthe wonga pigeon callsagain and again . . .

Nathalie Buckland

32

coastal breezeabove the line of sand dunesthe sea eagle

Ross Coward

blue-ringed octopusbeauty to take your breath away

Simon Hanson

beachside smile —in my albumyou remain perfect

Gavin Austin

a walk with my exbelow the cascade’s swasha deep still pool

Katherine Raine

33

stormy dayincoming tide swallowsthe cloud shadows

Maureen Sexton

marooned dinghyits bow pointedtowards the waves

Lyn Reeves

sundownalong the wharf fishing linesglow orange

Tom Staudt

smoke hazethe valley I return toin my dreams

Lorin Ford

34

the looping tracksof meandering rivers —scribbly gum

Sheila Sondik

this waythat waywagtail

Tony Beyer

mud mapall roads lead tochildhood

Jane Williams

the old wellis still giving waterin my mother’s garden

Katherine Gallagher

35

deep gullythe tumble of waterinto shadows

Lorraine Haig

the rattlein a boy’s pockettwo white pebbles

Marilyn Humbert

manicured parkthe child seeks outits untamed edges

Lyn Reeves

chill wind . . .empty swingstwitch in the breeze

Nathalie Buckland

36

school ovalswept clear of kids— one plover

Duncan Richardson

school’s out all summer cicadas droning

Ingrid Baluchi

origamia butterfly unfoldsits wings

Jan Napier

washing daya little pied cormoranthangs out his wings

Jennifer Sutherland

37

scent of lomandraa great egret stalksthe shallows

Leanne Mumford

last of the dayacross the plain ... hillsshaping the light

Katherine Raine

https://echidnatracks.com

last of the dayacross the plain... hills

shaping the light

Katherine Raine