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​The Invention of Pigs

Les Murray

Come our one great bushfirepigs, sty-released, declined to quittheir pavements of gravel and shit.Other beasts ran headlong, whipping off with genitals pinched high.Human mothers taught their infants creek-dipping.Fathers galloped,...

Boarding in Town for School

Les Murray

The trick was to beasleep before the rail signalmanwhispered in with his latestgirl off the midnight train otherwise the murmuringswould go on and onwhatever the pair did—at waking they’d...

The Genghis Firmament

Les Murray

Suspended archery of nightkeeps a resplendent distanceslowly circling the Earth. Just odd long spittlestreaks from dark iron jaws. —Les Murray

Jesus Was A Healer

Les Murray

Jesus was a healernever turned a patient down never charged coin or conversionstarted off with dust and spittle then re-tuned lives to patternsimply by his attention often surprised himself...

Growth

Les Murray

One who’d been my friendly Granwas now mostly barred from me,accomplishing her hard deathon that strange farm miles away. My mother was nursing herso we couldn’t be at home.Dad...

The Plastic Eater

Les Murray

Back to the hospital again,on the meals list, on the drip,in for yet another stayover an artificial kneeput in to replace aborn bone sideways wobbler. Nurtured by mother cowI...

The Glory and Decline of Bread

Les Murray

Sliced bread (sic) a centimeter thick staling on forty surfaces fit for soggy sandwiches real bread excels all this high top, Vienna, cob baguettes three times daily breads poignant...

The Death of Isaac Nathan, 1864

Les Murray

Stone statues of ancient waves tongue like dingoes on shore in time with wave-glitter on the harbor but the shake-a-leg chants of the Eora are rarely heard there any...

The Canonization

Les Murray

Rome 17 October 2010 Mary MacKillop, born 1842, what are the clergy giving you on my birthday, Mother Mary? Sainthood? So long after God did? Independence? But you’re your...

Knotwork Medallion

Les Murray

What did you see in the walnut? Horses all harnessed criss-cross And a soldier wearing the credits Of his movie like medal ribbons. An egg there building a buttery...

Eucalypts in Exile

Les Murray

They’ve had so many jobs: boiling African porridge. Being printed on. Paving Paris, flying in her revolutions. Supporting a stork’s nest in Spain. Their suits are neater abroad, of...

Port Jackson Greaseproof Rose

Les Murray

Which produced more civilizations, yellow grass or green? Who made poverty legal? Who made poverty at all? Eating a cold pork sandwich out of greaseproof paper as I cross...

Visiting Geneva

Les Murray

I came to Geneva by the bullet train up from church kero lamps” it must have been the bullet train. I rolled in on a Sunday to that jeweled...

Eucalypts in Exile

Les Murray

They’ve had so many jobs: boiling African porridge. Being printed on. Paving Paris, flying in her revolutions. Supporting a stork’s nest in Spain. Their suits are neater abroad, of...

Our Dip in the Rift Valley

Les Murray

We never heard what my mate heard descending to the Dead Sea by bus: a jet fighter far below him streaking north gomorrah and SDOM! Our trip was nearly...