Laurie Duggan

Thirty pieces


1

a suburb's
bars of light
on water where
once a blank
field a blanket
dark across
the river.















2

purple horizon radiance
unnatural light the sweeping
ray of the airport red
wink of a landing plane















3

no need of
presence (anyone's)















4

they pass on, pass
it to you, who
don't know what to do
with it, make
a passable effort















5

the expert
lost in a moment
expertise, or lost
in a moment of expertise















6

the turtle beneath the elephant
stands on what?















7

newspapers turn history to pun

why concentrate at all
in this blue haze















8

the problem of agency















9

technology – not, finally, interesting,
its promotion in art a gambit















10

minimalism (not formalism)
– lighter
and deeper















11

temporary space















12

blue hills towards tambourine
the sign

and the seen















13

a col-
umn of
light the
river
warps
as wake















14

the density of air presses in, even in early April as though the black were pigment massed about the skin. The orange lights with not quite the clarity of the coming season















15

the knuckles white
of words bracing
about their task















16

to
and
fro
and
up
and
down

walking in Brisbane















17

a cross river ferry
intersects with an
upriver vessel
navigation lights
vanish behind
buildings

a world less rich
under these clouds

provisioned
from elsewhere















18

routines
stitched
together

energies
heavy
in air















19

a mass of tangled rope
a blocked out world of currents















20

the lamplight
of documents
your attention
stolen from coffee















21

the body as
endless surface

a figure eight















22

warm touch
(cold fingers)

integers















23

to
night

and to
morrow















24

the age of the end
of everything















25

incongruous
as a
gondola















26

animal noises
from the court

unseen fireworks
for what?















27

to take it to the edge of sense and then gently deposit it on the bed of the mundane















28

the tape he sees
recording his voice
age six, gets
littler and littler

the voice heard now
says as much
before the click of spools















29

rain
avails















30

circumstance

a paper cup
in the river