from the editor's desk
‘Elizabeth Quay approaching ’ by Ross Jackson
As part of our annual October Subscription Drive, we’re excited to to publish snippets of work from our latest issue, Westerly 63.1, to showcase the fantastic contemporary literature we publish and as a taster of what subscription to Westerly has to offer. In honour of Poetry Lovers’ Week, we’re pleased to publish Ross Jackson’s ‘Elizabeth Quay approaching’.
Elizabeth Quay approaching
Ross Jackson
our little electric ferry slips
around Crawley Bay where
seaweed, blowies, jellies, shells
stranded on shelves of sand
hydrogen sulphide smells near the shore
as we head towards Elizabeth Quay
we sense the Quay’s advancing
through summer mirage, the vibrating
rings of Spanda* rippling across
the water to greet us, soon before
climbing the ladder, we steady
ourselves for retail pop ups
and more public art, how long
will it be before that sheer glass
canyon has crept up on three sides?
*Spanda is a 29 m tall sculpture by Christian de Vietri at Elizabeth Quay. It is a Sanskrit word meaning divine vibration.
Ross Jackson is a retired teacher who lives in Perth. He has had work published in many literary journals and on the Web. He often writes about the experience of aloneness in the suburbs.
To see more work like this as it comes out, make the most of our Subscription Drive and subscribe to Westerly today! All new subscribers over the next month will go in the running to receive a book or poetry bundle. This week’s book bundle, valued at over $195, is for the poetry lovers and includes a copy of Renga: 100 Poems by John Kinsella and Paul Kane and California Sweet by Kent MacCarter among works by various other talented Australian poets. Use the code OCTSUB18 at check out for our Drive discount and for your chance to win! Don’t miss out!
