Poetry

Little Blue Penguins

by Alison Wong

Photo: visitmelbourne.com

dusk, Summerland Beach, Phillip Island

here they come rush of learners jerky gear
shifts and no idea about cruise control it’s

a wonder there one goes tiny tailgater bouncing
off a back bumper the odd mamma driving

the other way she don’t need no
GPS she’s just heading out for shell-grit

some lil piece of sanity it’s big lights
big city every hole and box and dice

full of dinnertime hush little babies don’t
you cry the fish are jumping and the grass is high

Photo by Nitch Photography

Alison Wong is a fourth-generation New Zealander living in Geelong, Australia. Her poetry collection, Cup, was shortlisted for Best First Book for Poetry at the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and her poetry was selected for Best New Zealand Poems 2006, 2007, and 2015. Her novel, As the Earth Turns Silver, won the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the 2010 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. She is working on another novel and a memoir about New Zealand, Australia, and China.

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