Three Poems
Jane Downing
Well After Tennyson
If I had a flower for every time I thought of you
I could walk through my garden forever
—Alfred Lord Tennyson *
If I had a leaf for every time I thought of you
I could kick through drifts in hobnail boots
If I had a kernel for every time I thought of you
I could pop corn for all my friends not yours
If I had a balloon for every time I thought of you
I could fly to South America without you
If I had a safety pin for every time I thought of you
I could form a live-hard-die-you punk band
If I had a marble for every time I thought of you
I could rectify you being a few short but wouldn’t
If I had a cat for every time I thought of you
I could string all the violins in a mock sympathy orchestra
If I had pustule for every time I thought of you
I could infect the world and get civilization over and done
If I had pen for every time I thought of you
I could write you an anthology of very bad poetry
If I had a thought for every time I thought of you
I’d use it to think of anything but you
* The Tennyson claim for the quote is apocryphal,
as are so many reports about love.
We Make Plans
We make plans
that wash in the wind
beach against the table legs
of outdoor cafes
We make plans
that burst out of the bottle
froth up and over lips
fizzle in dribs on labels
We make plans
to change the world
which doesn’t get back
to our 3 am call
A List of Lists to Put My Mind To
A list of cures for insomnia
A list of influential people who leave you cold
A list of people you’d maim if you could get away with it
A list of people to impersonate for profit
A list of names you should never use for a child
Ditto dog
A list of literary damsels in distress who shouldn’t have been saved
A list of national dishes to eat in their nation of origin
A list of places you’ve fornicated
Ditto not had sex in but wonder why not
A list of last known sightings
A list of the steeds of medieval rabbits
A list of paint colour names that are apt
A list of contingencies
A list of memorials that should never have been built
A list of mitigating circumstances
A list of ways you can use the word press
A list of the mannerisms of wise people
A list of essentials for a round trip
Jane Downing is an Australian writer whose poetry has appeared in journals at home including Meanjin, Cordite, Rabbit, Canberra Times, Bluepepper, Not Very Quiet, Social Alternatives, Otoliths, Live Encounters, and Best Australian Poems (2004 & 2015). Her collection, When Figs Fly (Close-Up Books) was published in 2019. She can be found at janedowning.wordpress.com.