Five Poems

 

Dianne Cikusa

 

 

 

 

Omniscient

 

 

The guardian is lonely.

    He stares at windows in the walls.

 

[he listens to blind wails]

 

He waits for rooves to collapse,

and for tears to descend.

 

 

 

 

The Martyr

 

 

Cultivations of personality—

growing on the ceiling of our thoughts

                         with grisly precision

 

            … the [braised] revelations

        of human impulse;

 

Grief—

bears witness (in an aquarium)

 

 

 

 

Verbs & Adjectives

 

 

In vestiges of blood, we Swim

only in Regret;

 

In Peace—we have flown

past billowing Hope,

fleeing soiled dreams and

                            Ruined music—

 

 ] through to the foundation

of Solid Light.

 

 

 

 

The Red Door

 

 

For you, I have bled,

Mother—the deepest

orifice of Soul;

 

Cry-Baby

 

My Tears washed back to heaven,

my cold heart left to dry alone.

 

 

 

 

On Callous Land

 

 

Intellectual lawn—that we’ve

progressively mowed down

 

Burning the bed linen—So

the mare can sleep as best as she can

 

Dispose of a head,

over-occupied with words

                                        (and murder)

 

guilt has devoured the birds

And the night has accrued

sweat—Love is no longer edible.               The carpet is still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dianne Cikusa was born in Australia.  Her poetry has appeared in journals such as Cordite Poetry Review, Going Down Swinging, Windmills, Zine West, Subtle Tea, NWG Pop-Up and Haiku Zines, as well in Poets Union Anthology (Melbourne), Short & Twisted, One Surviving Poem, and two bilingual anthologies.  In 2010, one of her poems also appeared as digital media in the Melbourne Overload Poetry Festival.  Dianne is the author of three books of poetry including an international award-winning bilingual collection in English-French.  The collection received First prize in Poetry and Third prize for Best Book Cover in the 2020 Global Ebook Awards.  Recent publications include three books of wisdom quotes (published by Mignon Press, 2020). 

 

 


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