Spindrift and Scotch Mist
inviting Debbie Robson
for my late friend, Gail Hennessy
You would love the venue with a view
of the splendid sweep of sand leading to Nobby’s/
Whibayganba with its cluster of houses and lighthouse
since you posted it on Facebook, so many times.
Your photos were often taken through arches of booths
with an Art Deco or Spanish mission flavour
in keeping with the surf club. There are differences:
You left suddenly, over a year ago
and your photos showed surf and sky of the brightest blue.
Today it’s bleak, a grey day: Sea and sky dissolve the horizon.
A woman shuffles up from the surf, with a large beach towel
wrapped around her head and body, while a few couples
move toward the car park. A lone fisherman wields
a fishing rod, and children skip, oblivious to the weather.
Was this your happy space, because it revived
the Cronulla surfie girl? You were passionate
about your garden with wildlife. Fanciful, I sometimes
imagined you would accept the power to transform
this stretch of beach with azaleas and camellias.
Better still, picture the magic of melaleucas, callistemon
grevillea, and banksia. From 2 to 4 pm today
it’s the first Hunter Writers’ social club and tomorrow
night, the tribute to you and your poetry. For now,
while some see spindrift, I feel scotch mist, descending.
‘Scotch Mist’ is a dense mist mixed with drizzle commonly found in the Scottish Highlands.
A beautiful tribute to Gail, Jan. I miss her warmth, and her photos and poems, too
ReplyDeleteThis poem has so much feeling, so much imagery ... my sister has just died, and I found these words beautiful
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