were it for you, Death by James Walton

were it for you, Death

that fish eye
wobbly in want of centre
haphazard as a loose dart

with a calling card
embossed in such things

a rainbow from a kidney’s
undelivered gifts
a shiny scent of Autumn

leaves smoking rapprochement
the wakes for misplaced summers
unopened books

the pickup sticks of falling pages
so much still to interview for

would you come as you might, Garbed?


James Walton
is an Australian poet published in newspapers, and many journals, and anthologies. Short listed twice for the ACU National Literature Prize, a double prize winner in the MPU International Poetry Prize, Specially Commended in The Welsh Poetry Competition – his collection ‘The Leviathan’s Apprentice’ was published in 2015.

3 Replies to “were it for you, Death by James Walton”

  1. This one seems to fit well here in Outlaw. I’m becoming very interested in this matter of context for a poem…does one read it with a different sensibility depending on which lit mag one is delving into…? I think Yes!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.