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Thylazine: The Australian Journal of Arts, Ethics & Literature                                                                                                                                    #8/thyla8k-gc
AUSTRALIAN POETS SERIES 8
The Poetry of Graham Catt
Selected by Coral Hull

[Above] Photo of Graham Catt by Lucy Catt, 2002.


I seeing things I a dreamhome for the lonely I remembering desire I magpie I house of tears I
family portrait I


seeing things

black trees, green grass, white sky

the clouds are still
the trees are moving
the shadows are slippery

the trees are the shadows
the shadows are green
the trees are black

clouds are white trees
trees are green clouds

the trees are upside-down
their branches are roots in blue earth

branches are fingers, branches are cracks
leaves are mirrors, leaves are ripples

leaves drip into the sky, ducks paddle in the trees
lovers lie in the clouds, the sun lies in the pond

the sun is a hole in the pond
the sun is flat and white
the pond is filled with clouds

there are fish in the clouds
there are birds in the pond
the birds have fins, they dive into the sky

green sky, blue trees, white grass

Published in Blue: Friendly Street 27 (Wakefield Press, 2003).

a dreamhome for the lonely

the doorknobs
are shaped like hands
with palms open in welcome

the chairs are like laps
with arms that embrace
and shoulders you can lean on

the refrigerator will talk
as long as you want
about sport, sex or the weather

the bed will massage you
at the end of the day
the pillows will hug you back

and if you should wake in fear
the lamp will hold your trembling hand
- the clock sing you a lullaby

Published in Friendly Street Poetry Reader 26 (Wakefield Press, 2002).

remembering desire

it was only a glance
as she walked by
- statuesque and sultry

but something flickered
in his grey eyes
if only for a moment

thirty years ago
he might have whistled
flashed his tattooed biceps

but the chance is long gone
by the time his bus pulls up
and he stumbles to the kerb

others curse his hesitation
as he fumbles for loose change
but he is remembering desire

a time when beauty
might have stopped for him
seduced by his larrikin smile

Published in Pendulum (Australia).

Magpie

perched upon a street sign
a burnt and blackened stump
streaked by a seam of ash

its dark head swivelling
to reveal needle-sharp eyes
where a fire still smoulders

I hesitate, bewitched by the flame
watch its beak, poised like a flint
about to strike sparks from my skull

Published in Shooting Stars (Ginninderra Press, 2001).

house of tears

a gecko crawls across her cheek
          and into the crack behind her ear

the lights in her eyes have gone out

moth wings litter her windowsills

her mouth is overgrown with weeds
          time has rusted her tongue

she keeps her doors locked, curtains drawn

her empty rooms are musty with regret

          webs decorate her memories

she has found mouse droppings
          in the closet of her womb

and a pool of shattered glass

where someone has thrown a brick
          through the window of her heart

family portrait

picnic blankets are spread
along a coastline of shadow

forming an archipelago
of patchwork islands

where flotillas of litter float
in harbours of indifference

empty bottles like boats
sail on a sea of grass

Father drifts off to sleep
Mother is marooned on a book

others lost in a fog of alcohol
their thoughts treading water

conversation has been stranded
shipwrecked on a reef of silence

the gulf between each person
is now wider than oceans

Published in Shooting Stars (Ginninderra Press, 2001).

About the Poet Graham Catt

Graham Catt was born in the UK. He arrived in Australia with his family in 1967. His interest in creative arts began in with cartooning, poetry, short stories and pop music. He spent most of the 1980s writing and performing his own music. He has been a member of Adelaide’s long established Friendly Street Poets since 1996, and currently serves on the Friendly Street Committee as Treasurer and Website Administrator. In 2002, he co-edited Blue: Friendly Street 27 with Kim Mann. Blue was launched in March 2003 by Tom Shapcott. In 2000, Graham left his employer of 19 years to devote more time and energy to creative ventures. He has since completed a collection of short stories and a novel for children. His poetry and short stories have appeared in: Poetry Monash, Going Down Swinging, Quadrant, Famous Reporter, LiNQ, The Canberra Times and Verandah. He has also been widely published on the World Wide Web in such e-zines as: Disquieting Muses (US), Limestone Magazine (UK), The 2River View (US), Southern Ocean Review (NZ), The Danforth Review (Canada), Milk Magazine (US) and Carve Magazine (US). He is currently working on three new collections.
   [Above] Photo of Graham Catt by Lucy Catt, 2002.

I Next I Back I Exit I
Thylazine No.8 (September, 2003)

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