from Clark Gormley’s “Not What You Think”
Coffee by the Sea
brown crust on white foam at the bogey-hole today hints of caramel
G
Danny Gentile
Danny Gentile is a Newcastle-based poet, with works published in journals such as Overland, Stylus Poetry Journal, Meanjin and Southerly, and anthologies including The Best Australian Poetry 2006, The Best Australian Poems 2008, New Beginnings: An Anthology and Contemporary Australian Gay and Lesbian Poets 2009.
Flying Islands Pocket Poet Publications
The Icicle Tree
Clark Gormley
Clark Gormley is a poet and singer-songwriter based in Newcastle. He has been heavily involved in organising and promoting local poetry readings for over 20 years. He has been published in several anthologies including Visions from the Valley, A Slow Combusting Hymn and Brew: 30 Years of Poetry at the Pub Newcastle. He has written and performed three nerd-themed one-man shows and a bunch of nerdy wordy songs. Gormley pursues these creative endeavours in an effort to counterbalance the stodginess of a career in chemical engineering.
Links: www.clarkgormley.com
Flying Islands Pocket Poet Publications
Clark Gormley is a poet and singer-songwriter based in Newcastle. He has been heavily involved in organising and promoting local poetry readings for over 20 years. He has been published in several anthologies including Visions from the Valley, A Slow Combusting Hymn and Brew: 30 Years of Poetry at the Pub Newcastle. He has written and performed three nerd-themed one-man shows and a bunch of nerdy wordy songs. Gormley pursues these creative endeavours in an effort to counterbalance the stodginess of a career in chemical engineering.
Links: www.clarkgormley.com
Flying Islands Pocket Poet Publications
Not what you think
Not What You Think is a collection of poems that uses wit and wordplay to explore the hidden stories of everyday life. Many of the poems delve into the domestic suburban surrounds of his home-town. Others offer a satirical take on nature and modern technology. From watching birds to venetian blinds and nonsense rhymes, Gormley’s poetry adds lustre to things we know so well that we often stop thinking about them.
Lockdown blog
Stuck in Sydney in the family home, I’ve begun a daily blog inspired by my daily walks through the nearby Dame Eadith Walker Estate. Here’s a sample.
Preface
The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne by Gilbert White (1720-1793) has provided both an inspiration and a template for this lockdown blog. The following has been lifted directly from this text:
The author of the following letters takes the liberty, with all proper deference, of laying before the public his idea of parochial history, which, he thinks, ought to consist of natural productions and occurrences as well as antiquities. He is also of the opinion that if stationary men and women would pay some attention to the districts in which they reside, and would publish their thoughts respecting the objects around them, from such materials might be drawn the most complete county-histories.
Day I – Saturday the 24th of July, 2021 AD
Dear Sir
The Dame Eadith Walker Estate is within half a mile of my current accommodation. Lockdown has provided myself with the opportunity to walk the grounds of this fine estate on a daily basis. In the following days I will provide you with a description of my observations on a daily basis.
Today, a stiff breeze from the north-west at around 20mph (ref. BOM) has discouraged most birds from feeding in the open grass field on the north side. They have mostly retreated to the trees or to the southern fields on the lee side. Welcome swallows (more details to follow) and magpies are the most obvious.
Yours etc.
Sunday the 25th of July 2021 AD
Dear Sir,
The Dame Eadith Walker Estate, also known as Yaralla Estate, and now home to the Dame Eadith Walker Hospital, lies in the suburb of Concord West, in the city of Canada Bay, formerly the municipality of Concord, in the Parish of Concord, in the County of Cumberland, in the state electorate of Drummoyne, in the federal division of Reid, formerly the division of Lowe, located on a promontory on the Parramatta River between Majors Bay to the east and Yaralla Bay to the west, approximately half-way between the centres of the cities of Sydney and of Parramatta, in latitude 33.847 south and 151.087 east.
The Estate is bordered on it’s west side by Nullawarra Avenue. The avenue is lined with what I think are maple trees. At this time of year, they are totally bereft of leaves, but the branches are still holding a fair number of seed pods. There are hundreds of these pods on the ground under each of these trees. The pods are hard, sharp, dry and brown. They are a serious trip hazard and must be responsible for many sprained ankles. They’re aesthetically unpleasant and do not look appetising at all. However I’ve witnessed rainbow lorikeets tucking into them. They must have been hungry.
Yours etc.
CLARK GORMLEY
Clark Gormley is a poet and singer-songwriter based in Newcastle, Australia. He has been involved in organising and promoting local poetry readings for over 20 years.He has been published in several anthologies including Visions From the Valley, A Slow Combusting Hymn and Brew 30 Years of Poetry at the Pub Newcastle. He has written and performed three nerd-themed one-man shows, and is working on a fourth. He’s also written a bunch of wordy songs, most of which he has sung in the duo Nerds & Music. Gormley pursues these creative endeavours in an effort to counterbalance the stodginess of a career in chemical engineering.
His flying islands book, Not What You Think, was published in 2019.
Panda Onesie
you get home and
run to the wardrobe
before the shopping
is unpacked
the onesie goes on
and there you are
a befurred cherub
in black and white
happy as a folivore
in a bamboo forest
the onesie stays on
until you go out
home being your
natural habitat
a tiny enclave of
Sichuan Province
cos you’ve read that
the species doesn’t
fare well elsewhere
so you need to wear
your human skin
as protection when
venturing into
outdoor captivity
this huge open range zoo