That Place

Paperbark trees, butcherbirds, 

a narrow path to the sea;

that place gone, like clouds.

Only I remain. The tree outside

my home does not exist here,

the grave my father is buried in

is far, as is my mother, who lives

in a small flat, gives love recklessly,

takes it away in madness,

her anger the venom of a snake.

Sometimes, it is too much.

I do not want to see it, the dead

and the yet dead; the weight of knowing.

*

Biography

Ion Corcos has been published in The High Window, Australian Poetry Journal, Allegro, Panoply, and other journals. Ion is a nature lover and a supporter of animal rights. He is currently travelling indefinitely with his partner, Lisa. His first pamphlet, A Spoon of Honey (Flutter Press, 2018), is out now.