The Wednesday Poem

Was it the Stars

Was it the stars that kept me from sleep –
a clear night, no moon, far from city glare –
their dazzle-dance through time, through space

or was it Djilba*
—whispering, draping.
peppermint trees with white floral finery,
or swish of branches as the wind picked up

or thud of plummeting marri nuts –
counterpoint to errant magpies’
midnight carolling.

Time marked by the mantle clock drip, dripped,
spiralling thoughts from What Psyche did Next
drove me out again to impossible silver–

our galaxy–its ropey brilliance
piercing the black of absence
shining aeons away–from all that ever was

our eternal wondering a mere twinkle
in this spiralling fire, where will the light
from stars burning now fall?

* Djilba: the Noongar season of ‘first spring’ Aug/Sept.

Jenifer Hetherington

^ Jenifer Hetherington lives on Whadjuk Boodjar, Fremantle, Western Australia. She writes short fiction and poetry. Her work has been published in various journals including Cuttlefish 1,2 and 3, Poetry D’Armour, Brushstrokes, Creatrix, Enchanted Verses,
Enter to Our Home, Westerly, and Indigo. South Beach is a source of inspiration and delight.