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  New England Writers' Centre

Poetry — Commended, Richenda Rudman

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Richenda Rudman writes poetry and short stories from her home in Kensington, Victoria. Her work appears in numerous anthologies. Richenda is a former speechwriter and corporate trainer who this year has won the Philippa Holland Award for Poetry and the What’s My Story Poetry Award at City of Stonnington.

Separation

The railway line in the town with its rat-a-tat name
separates north and south
like eggs into whites and yolks.
 
See north: fluffed up confectionary houses on felt lawns;
breakfast spit is wiped from the shirtfronts
of lawkeepers questioning
 
whereabouts of inhabitants,
who share values kept in holsters,
alien to the dark-rhythm shindigs
 
of the women
whose quiet limbs glow like dinner candles in tea-brown water,
or are thrown like used cups
 
down highway embankments, or are clutched by reeds;
their eyes’ last image—fodder for birds that elsewhere sing sweetly.
Bodies burnt and bleached to cloud signatures
 
resting under blue plastic
like fallen sky.
A clipboard resting on her belly
 
omits the search by half-hearted headlights
and the missteps--
countless—like babes learning to walk.
 
They have been rendered ineligible
for open casket, their last kisses retracted
from the dwellers south of the railway line,
 
in homes patched and blind-mended,
housing faces crumpled like paper bags
with creases crosshatched from morphing grief,
 
beneath the redundant crucifix.
A tap drips like tears
south of the railway line,
 
separating albumen from bloodshot yolk.
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We gratefully acknowledge the support of Create NSW and our other generous sponsors
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which the New England Writers' Centre is situated and pay our respects to Aboriginal Elders past and present.
  • Home
  • Program
    • 2021 Summer Micro Grants
    • Managing your creative business
    • On Point: finding a fresh perspective
    • Scriptwriting 101
    • Writing Romantic Thrillers
    • Inside Story
    • Short Story Crit Clinic
    • Life Writing
    • Structure & plotting when writing for children
    • Rural Crime Writing Festival
    • Discover your illustration style
    • The Illustrated Story
    • Editing Your Manuscript
    • Self-publishing with InDesign
    • Self-publishing & The Indie Author
    • Writing super creative kidlit
  • About
    • Our Board
    • Our Sponsors
  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • 2020 Archive
    • Thunderbolt Prize 2020 >
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2020 Judges Reports
      • Thunderbolt Prize 2020_Winning submissions
    • Illustration Prize 2020 Winners
    • Varuna Fellowship 2020
    • Historical Novel Prize >
      • About the judges
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • By The Book video series
    • Stories Connect
    • Useful links!