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Lerian poets |
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Dimitris Tsaloumas Dimitris Tsaloumas was born on Leros in the Dodecanese group of islands. Where he grew up during the time of the Italian occupation. Alter the war, for political reasons, Tsaloumas came to Australia. Dimitris Tsaloumas won the 1983 National Book Council Award for Australian Literature with The Observatory.
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MORNING LULLABY FOR A SICK CHILD
Don’t stare at me in my stillness hunched in this chair silent. Don’t imagine that I don’t care, my child. Because your complaint persists like a hungry bird pecking at my rusty roof and my rage is terrible, I’ll get up one day and shout on God’s doorstep, rouse the neighbourhood of angels, demand to be let in so I can plead your cause and mine. You’ll see. You ’ll see me squash that spider that lurks on the windows of night so the air hides in fright and children ’s lungs rattle like the slit throats of beasts.
But sleep now that night has gone and dawn is putting every star to sleep in its fold. |
.................................................... Then one morning one Sunday morning I’ll fling wide the windows and my brother the seagull will appear soaring gleaming white up from the headland’s wash amid the sky-blue banners and the bright trumpets of the sun that thrust into the roofs of houses creaks and croaks and unheard-of rustlings. And then, my child, we’ll toss our caps into the air, throw off our shoes, and before you can say ‘Amen’ we’ll race down the gullies to the beach and all God’s holy day we’ll play together just as all children play.
(OBSERVATIONS OF A HYPOCHONDRIAC) |