Almanac Poetry: Lal Lal, Victoria
Lal Lal Falls Hotel. Photo: Wikicommons
Lal Lal, Victoria
Smoke from chimneys
of forest houses.
Chilly winter morning
in the township near the waterfall.
A local cat
waits with its mistress
at the V-Line bus stop
as it always does.
Bloke is standing outside the pub
in T-shirt, shorts and boots,
blowing perfect cigarette rings
into the frosty air.
Acknowledgement: first published in Kevin’s third poetry book, Orpheus in the Undershirt (Ginninderra Press, 2018)
Read more poems and prose from Kevin Densley HERE.
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His fifth book-length poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws ... I'm Feeling Too Indolent, was published in late 2023 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, which was published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
love that place kev. went hay carting there (xmas hols) while I was still at school. was so hot,, we used to buy long necks from that pub at night and lay in the falls, to cool off.
Sounds like an excellent way to spend the Christmas holidays, Will, particularly for a young bloke!
Arresting imagery Kevin. I love the clarity of the voice. I’m there. I can see this.
Great, DB! Thanks. What you’ve said about the poem is precisely what I was aiming for. Lal Lal is certainly a lovely place to write about. I used to pass through there regularly in the V Line bus on my way to Ballarat, where I did various bits and pieces of work at the university.