Brunswick Valley Omnibus

Brunswick Valley Omnibus
being haiku and senryu about aspects of life in the Valley

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first australians rainforest walk cedar - red gold timber getting fishing with bashô boat harbour new brighton beach brunswick estuary dairy farm village markets	anzac dawn chinese village dogs small fauna district hospital family great dividing range missing trains swings in the swim	pubs culture cane farm the parrots other locals a sporting life torakina picnic uptight in mullum churches the way we are

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1. First Australians 40 thousand years the rising sun casts a long shadow sky smudged by burning cane a Koori flag 26th january breaking waves drown the didgeridoo silhouettes on a whitewashed wall waxing moon milky way a creek of gleaming stones splits the night	Aboriginal Flag Milky Way
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rainforest walk forest canopy a breeze rearranges the greens leaf rot a leech scaling my boot dappled pond a water strider steps over ripple rings a butterfly settles on the fig tree buttress roots
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cedar - red gold bursts of red above the canopy sunset stand of cedar the echo of an axe reaches home a felled tree lies in the bracken its stump old growth forest a blue heeler pads through silence	Australian red cedar
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timber getters snigging a log from deep in big scrub his scarred arms main arm mill the ripsaw’s scream outlasts hers term break he ringbarks his first sapling pissing into the bracken ... a rainbow!	woodcutters
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fishing with bashô beside the bashô on brunswick footbridge... smaller than me! shallows a sand whiting paler than its shadow karumi he says even a poet should know it's a whiting my akubra for his conical straw? the bashô declines	sun on sciatica our shadows on the water ripple together brunswick footbridge he shuffles off a spectre under the hat he calls sabi
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boat harbour boat harbour an old fisherman moored by his handline blessing the fleet a shag on the rock wall dries its wings harbour berths one wooden post without a pelican	boat harbour Brunswick Heads
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brunswick estuary estuary incoming tide returns the moon wading ashore… no trace of the hole I was in high tide the pirate ship nudges a pleasure boat rain drizzle an ibis picks its way across the mudflat ebb tide a mangrove blossom puts to sea	Brunswick Heads estuary Brunswick Heads, Mt Chincogan on skyline
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dairy farm mid-summer... fence posts hypnotising cows dandelion ball a daughter's breath sows the home paddock sagging fence of the holding paddock eastbound ibis husband away their bedroom full of one mosquito	dawn shadows a crow rides the windmill back to the trough cows cows cows common market milk thistles overrun the bails
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village markets village markets a sombre child holds the busker’s hat jewellery the stall holder's navel winks at me fresh tomatoes her right thumb bright green car park chat both of their boots wide open	Bruns markets Mullum markets
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anzac dawn anzac park an ibis on one leg faces the wind 25th april the schoolboy bugler licks his lips a purple patch among cenotaph wreaths paterson's curse two minutes silence a southly-easterly rattles the halyard	anzac eve a crow watches old men clean the cenotaph rising sun anzac speech his daughter wanders away to the swings
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new brighton beach pacific waves the lone swimmer throws an elbow sea mist whale watchers ignore an oil tanker boxing day high tide reclaims the cricket pitch dog friendly acquaintances wave poo bags	looking towards byron bay beach dogs
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chinese take-aways standing in line behind combat fatigues green tea she brushes back a wisp of grey mullum house a long wait for short soup far east the dragon’s left eye has gone out	fly specks on the fish tank a lazy susan fen shui her chopsticks aligned with mine
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village dogs spring morning my dog and I exchange silly grins barking dogs a swaggie’s progress through town chain lightning house too low for the dog to crawl under between showers the border collie revisits each post tall paspalum bow wave of a kelpie going home	Working dog - Cattle dog Fetching dog - Kelpie Loving dog - Labrador
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some small fauna water dragons the spring viewing of babies mossy rocks in a rainforest remnant one bounds away a mud crab on the boy's string for the long haul	november clouds the downpipe frog first to start flushed toilet the resident frog rides it out
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district hospital over the road and downhill a bit the cemetery mercurochrome a butterfly pattern on the bed sheet x-rays the mountains blurred by cane smoke	canulated by my own aunty rusty roof gutter hospital garden two crows shining in a jacaranda
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family wattle day our teenager practices her look the day after... two dollars for a ride in his wheelchair tea with aunty her bone-handled cutlery warm to touch	family reunion checking city cousins for corruption [pic later] grandma's place the hole in her ceiling big as a rat
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great dividing range burning cane sunset flowing into the great divide summer dreaming a white cloud snagged on wollumbini upper main arm a jersey cow eating the foothills
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missing trains the stillness of our unused station council offices rusted rails on splintered sleepers no clickity-clack from the mouth of number two tunnel a drift of dandelions
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swings sprinkling... a young mother wipes the swing seat an old man on the slippery-dip growing older spring rain an empty swing hangs above its puddle	park swings her smile each time he returns brunswick heads photo-op pollyanna falls off the f---ing swing
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in the swim clearing sky a plastic thong thrown back by the sea snorkelling yellow flippers follow the bald head autumn rain a faded cozzie droops from the hills hoist	cape byron bends the pacific ocean a right-hand break love affair afterwards he showers with his board
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pubs middle pub beer by beer he gets prettier barrels stacked at the nudgel pub roadworks closing time in the courthouse I fall in love	Railway Hotel the other pub
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culture drill hall the echo of play as playback dangerously poetic a labrador humping the lectern bruns library a reefer butt smolders on the doorstep blues festival sharing easter twilight with new brothers	[pic later]
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cane farm plowing... the paddock stippled with egrets flight 456 canefields square the valley floor burning off black smoke reddens the sunset
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parrots kangaroo grass a wind gust flushes the other rosella bottlebrush a boy counts lorikeets on his fingers hoop pine the upper storeys corella-white daybreak a cockatoo checks her mate’s crest sunset lorikeets pair off in the hoop pine	eastern rosella sulphur-crested cockatoo rainbow lorikeet
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other locals tail rudder a bush turkey scatters garden mulch dying light a soaring sea eagle's pale belly crack of a whip bird's call the stillness tyagarah fruit bats homing on the swamp	bush turkey sea eagle fruit bats
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a sporting life january rain an ibis knee-deep in the ad-court rain stoppage extra cover lays out his swap cards cricket finals between innings a kick-for-kick world cup the toddler dribbles a pine cone	season kick-off the giants' scrum smells of mothballs away game our team's flag full of their wind
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torakina picnic family picnic a line-up of wicked banksia men fish & chips the ring of seagulls tightens evening breeze a butterfly carried out to sea shaking out the picnic blanket silvereyes	fiscal crisis kids with plastic spades reshaping the world bad banksia man haiku poets silently stalking things
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uptight in mullum 4 am choosing a worry for the day stress-echo test never quite reaching doc's window pioneer park the player in check scratches his balls grand final silly mid-on chews his nails	thinking about love and stuff river ripples [pic later] best man the dress shirt hangs by one peg
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churches a pigeon on the yellow church roof matins long sermon the doorway smaller than it was st martins swinging spider anchored by a glass saint cemetery the catholic tombstones cast long shadows	[pic later] [pic later]
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the way we are australia day a stray dog chased out of the bingo tent torakina those she-oaks I’ve outlived mullum show cows in the grand parade bored to tears community garden the scrapheap pumpkin doing best	health clinic all the corner seats taken [pic later] back lanes neighbours watching reality shows
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