Alison Croggon is the author of several poetry collections, some of which have won major literary awards. She is also known for her widely acclaimed Pellinor series, fantasy fiction for young adults. In addition, she has written plays, libretti, translations, criticism, and fiction. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and three children. Alison was our showcased artist for the May 2008 edition.
The Edgeless Page | Emily Bronte
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The Edgeless Page
words I am heavy with words
a language glistens in my belly
unfolding all the old meanings
fresh and wet as an eye
it is curious as music
quickening the invisible
learning the shape of its mouth
the way to push
through these softening walls
its whole inevitable voice
(The Common Flesh, 2003)
Emily Bronte
these windy slopes are shorn
of the things which make life comfortable:
broad trees, broken bread, the swell
and supple curve of a lover’s back.
I sit here by my window, catch
the rough, sweet scent of heather in my nostrils
and write of death and love entwined
like adders together. The poetry
lies wild in my veins, the poetry
of granite skies stabbed by rocky outcrops,
the giving spring of turf, the taste
of solitude like aloes on my tongue,
the bare, unchanging moors, which take
my sisters and myself with mute indifference
and conquer under soil all our passion.
(This is the Stone, 1991) |
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