With rain and autumn upon us, today’s Poet’s Corner features two timely poems from Adelaide writer Margaret Fensom’s new book, Landscape of Dreams.

Alexander and the Rain

Alexander, aged one,
sees the water falling from the clouds
silver grey onto the wooden table
turning red-brown in the rain,
sees the rain
deepen the red of paving bricks,
stretches out his little hand
to touch the water pools
forming under the drain pipe.

He has as yet
no words for colour.

Autumn

It is autumn. We fold into ourselves.
And look, one morning the rain has arrived.
Stars peep between the whiteness of clouds.
Crickets sing in the late afternoon.

It isn’t death we fear, nor mourn
shortness of life. As light grows soft
we fold ourselves into ourselves,
dream thoughts and sleepy slowness,
to find those depths we had forgotten,
strange dreams we never knew we had,
first green leaves of the bulbs
that bloom before winter’s end,
tears at the cricket’s sad fluting
in the early dusk.

Margaret Fensom was one of Poet’s Corner’s first contributors in its Independent Weekly print days. In the same year, 2007, she was one of three poets chosen for the Friendly Street New Poets Series, Volume 12. Since then her poems, short stories and articles have appeared in various publications. Landscape of Dreams is Fensom’s first book collection of poetry.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.