River Mouth
Henley Beach South Australia
The pelicans disappeared overnight.
In the still of yesterday afternoon
they stood sentinel, balanced
on the cross pipe up stream
from the weir that gargles this city’s
river life into the sea.
The morning moon wanes. Horses still graze
corralled by soft banks and timber rails
bordering freedom, captivity.
At sunrise ripples spread through reeds
the first five pelicans emerge, lift beaks
rise sure footed to yesterday’s perch
as though to deliver this new
shining fish of a day.
Ann Nadge lives in Adelaide, South Australia. Her career as an Educator involved teaching and consulting in Sydney and Adelaide, in secondary and tertiary settings and briefly as a Research Associate in the School of Education, University of Cambridge. Ann has published five books of poems and edited two for Australia’s Ginninderra Poets. Her work has been included in several anthologies. Although she cannot read or play music, Ann has collaborated with composers in Adelaide and Amsterdam to create new works, including several hymns. She currently enjoys semi-retirement and is active in the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide.
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