AUSTRALIA I ran tirelessly Barefoot Throughout the long dry grasses That whipped carelessly against my legs The day was warm from The golden sun Which bathed the pastures in light From its throne in the blue, unclouded sky. I remembered the city: The harsh silhouettes of fuming chimneys Pointed To the dingy sky The suburban streets, lined with Identical houses And awkward, stunted trees. Each street filled with Identical people. No, today I would forget the veils of the city. I would store away the riches of the countryside In my mind To remember later. As I ran on, I came across A gum tree I sniffed its pleasant aroma It was blackened at the bottom Charred by a cruel fire, but it had grown Upwards, into the sun I stood and watched it Then ran on. M. Ablitt II H The old man. Blue serge shirt. Gnarled and wrinkled. Back bent, Under the strain of hard labour. He stands against time Wind beats the valleys, and crevices, of the face, that has known so much. He has seen men come, and go. He has seen the promise of gold lure, and destroy. He has known the madness, the joy, SORROW of a strike. The shimmering shadow He has felt the pain, of a songless life the disappointment, The feeling of death of failure. like a plunge of a knife But still he works on for perhaps, The dew is like a tiger's tears beneath the ground he stands on flowing in tide through time and years the fabulous yellow stone The flower I touch withers and dies lurks, hidden. The bird I hold starts then flies Only fate can tell. An empty feeling inside of me Rhona Cowen like falling sand in an endless land Like dying lights held in my hand I have no need of tomorrow Long distance calling! It will only bring pain A telegraph for Mr. Chuck! and endless sorrow Another wrong number! What a day! H. Kohn IV O Number after number after number. Connecting and disconnecting! Wires tangled and criss-crossed. Angry people all in such a hurry. Emergency calls and hoaxes A ten minute tea-break Then, back to the job! Soft light plays on her upturned face With gently flickering fingers of shadow. Sue Simpson IV G Wax drips roll slowly from the wick. As she watches the candle's glow. The earth had moved only slightly, Like the changing shadows her lonely thoughts wander But In this second niany things happened. Realising nothing, yet encompassing all. A child was born, She feels not the cold, the damp or discomfort: A person died, But instead the serenity of the darkening world. A country invaded, Half smiling through her blank reverie Crimes committed. She slowly lowers her arm and stirs. Hatred and love bloom, Now with her saddened face in the kind darkness People thinking, talking, breathing She tea ves her memories for the ordinary world. Does the world ever stop? Lisa McQuire IV O Anon IV G 56 .