Almanac Poetry: ‘I play the perfect cover drive’ – James Walton
I play the perfect cover drive
Easing on to my back foot
Saturday early early Summer, elevenish
a sound of cork like popping
the axe fall of linseeded willow
throughout the mowing suburbs
My spine straight as a lithe picket
Plane trees shady stalled on shutter
a mottled reminisce of Cazneaux
our border/kelpie Sophie
trotting back the drooly ball
Her jet coat a reel
in stoppled light from Van Gogh’s head
a thwack in the fence holding on
the still of tactile breeze
my children, SHOT, WANKER,
can we have LUNCH
Published in James’ book Snail Mail Cursive, Ginninderra Press 2023
Copies can be purchased Here.
@WaltonPoetry
More from James Walton can be read Here.
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About James Walton
James Walton is published in many anthologies, journals, and newspapers. He has been shortlisted for the ACU National Poetry Prize, the MPU International Poetry Prize, The James Tate Prize, and the Ada Cambridge Prize. Five collections of his poetry have been published. He was nominated for ‘The Best of the Net’ 2019, and was a Pushcart Prize 2021 nominee. He is a winner of the Raw Art Review Chapbook Prize. His fifth poetry collection, Snail Mail Cursive, was published by Ginninderra Press in January 2023. He now resides in Wonthaggi, Australia, in an Edwardian house which was once a small maternity hospital.
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Crisp sounds captured here, James and sharp images. That Cazneaux redgum in the Flinders Ranges looks like a ripper. Cazneaux, I just found, was Dick Smith’s grandfather.
Really, well that is fascinating, and what a small world it is!
At its most elegant cricket has some beautiful moments but I reckon the exquisitely timed cover drive might be the best of these.
After a concert at the Thebby a mate met Nick Cave out the front and realising he probably only had opportunity for one question asked the great goth, ‘Who do you reckon was the better cover driver, G. Chappell or D. Gower?’
‘Axe fall’ is a superb image, thanks James.
Thanks Mickey. Great story, but what was the answer?
Yes, sorry James. GS Chappell. He may have already do so, but I reckon, just like Paul Kelly, Nick Cave would write a brilliant essay on cricket.
No quarrels with either of them but, with the risk of starting an avalanche of other posts, I respectfully suggest Zaheer Abbas and VVS Laxman as other classy wristy contenders.
My apologies to FA editors if this creates a pile on!
RDL