Trio in S-sharp

A new house in a new suburb
a new shopping centre
a parcel to post
for Winnie, latest clan baby
far away in Darwin.
Package stamped & taped
by smiling assistant.
I said “Hello Sue”, reading
her official badge in red & blue,
“I’m new here, I’m Sue too”;
Then “So am I, I’m a Sue”,
from behind my shoulder the voice of
a tall woman, shock of white hair,
face laughter-creased.
“A trio of Sues!” we exclaimed ‒
then cross-checked
our birth names.
Lo & behold! We are all Susans ‒
what a coincidence,
a name from the best baby name
lists of the 1940s, three fine lilies.

Another coincidence ‒
back in the car I tuned in to
the deep rumble of Johnny Cash,
singing “A Boy Named Sue…”

Sue Cook is a returning Poet’s Corner contributor who has swapped her longstanding Adelaide Hills home for one on “flat ground”, albeit that it is near the Tangari Regional Park conservation environment and the foothills leading up to Clarendon and the Onkaparinga. In September last year, Poet’s Corner featured her poem ‘Frog Cakes’, which as a consequence was taken up by the maker of that South Australia icon for promotional purposes.

Over the course of this year, Sue’s poems have appeared in a number of Australian poetry publications, such as the Friendly Street annual anthology number 41, the Goulburn Valley Writers’ Group Tamba magazine’s special 60th edition, and Poetry Matters Issue 29.

As a senior English teacher for a number of years, Sue edited the South Australian English Teachers Association’s annual poetry anthology, and also launched the 2010 edition as guest poet. Her book of collected poems, ‘In Focus’, was published by Ginninderra Press in 2016.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.