by JEANNIE HAUGHTON
where landscape dwarfs everything
freckled and speckled umber sands
asphalt ribbon looping between outcrops
russet boulders burnished bronze scrub
fading into a blue distant skyline-
shimmer-hazed blips
nomad vans embracing the long haul
languid stretches roads and stiff-limbed travellers
uncoiling in contemplation
what adventure today tomorrow
Up North the age-old panacea for Old Age
you have to ask where you would rather be
if you were they
camp-ground routine idle chat
in wayside stops off the beaten track
eyes to the skies for weather
night-flush of wood fire and glow
simple needs overriding
routine scrutiny pains pills patronising cheer
all distant bruised shadows against
the unfathomable scale
and bewildering beauty of place
you have to ask where you would rather be