Late Summer Glenelg river

she ducks 

under satchels 

slung over 

bent nails

to slip candy

coloured lancets

into croaking 

purple heels

north-westerly

wind hustles

                                desert 

spark warnings 

stand us                 

                                still

as pillars

of salt

we resolve 

to dissolve

ourselves 

in the stream

skirt limestone

                                pleats 

the water’s 

                                hem

river-gum 

                                weave

unpick 

                                a walnut 

                                tree

torchlit 

split-shell

gorging 

ensues

come to 

with tanned

                        finger-pads

the rainwater

                        wash of her 

the complaint

                        that this

is all 

a bit 

                        too biblical

gang-gangs

gesticulate 

red-faced

praise

and spit

in each other’s 

        mouths

                        as                         

                        guttural 

smoke         

                        seeps

                        in                         

to claim 

                        its territory        

the seeds 

                        prepare 

to burst         

                        anew