Almanac (Prose) Poetry: House by the Sea
Dawn after the Wreck by J.M.W. Turner, c.1841. Watercolor and gouache, 251 x 368 mm The Courtauld Gallery, London. [Wikimedia Commons.]
House by the Sea
Why, across years, decades, does my mind keep returning to an old weatherboard house by the sea in winter? To white-capped, deep blue waves, on the other side of nearby dunes, seen through the glass of a slightly open window? A curtain turning and tossing in a fluky wind? What about the cracks in the plaster of this room’s walls and ceiling? The antique black-and-white TV in the corner, switched off, it seems, forever? And the yellowed wallpaper dotted with tiny pink flowers? The dusty coffee table with a cut-glass vase in the centre, upon a once-white lace doily? The creaking timber of the house’s frame, the high-pitched grinding of the sheets of the corrugated iron roof? Why am I suddenly, palpably there, here, wondering why I’m present?
(Acknowledgement: first published in Kevin Densley’s fourth poetry collection, Sacredly Profane, Ginninderra Press, 2020.)
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Sacredly Profane, is available 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 sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 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, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
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