Denis Gallagher

A Cushion

for J.A., on his 70th

To the east  toil
Around the dairy  to the
West  llamas about to
Be shorn  dogs on the job
To the north  south
A city writhes

This farmyard’s name
Lie Down is admired
A farmer so dilatory
His husbandry’s nonplussed
His fussiest task
Blow the heads off dandelions

Why do birds suddenly appear?

The dandelions are so dear
The watchful geese so near
As at every other time
Are deathly sanguine to rhyme
The silky fluff in puffs
Their unanticipated simile

Snails on the run
Hither and thither
A storm  white feathers
John as odalisque
Geese as dandelions
His  the settling air

xii 97

Denis Gallagher lives in the Blue Mountains
west of Sydney, Australia.

Photo of Denis Gallagher by John Tranter
Copyright © John Tranter, 1999

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