Published 22 December 2008 · Main Posts mary: a poem Maxine Beneba Clarke boxing day comes quiet a child was born in bethlehem beneath a star but a childhood died wise men brought frankincense & gold for a babe who had not opened his eyes didn/t gather that brown girl in their arms & whisper hush my darling it/s okay to cry you are not alone tonight a scared girl carried a god/s fire in her belly without a choice watched a young man / she raised as her own murdered on a cross & crowned with thorns on boxing day i think about mary © Maxine Clarke, 2008 Maxine Beneba Clarke Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian author and slam poet of Afro- Caribbean descent. Her short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the 2015 ABIA Award for Best Literary Fiction and the 2015 Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her memoir, The Hate Race, her poetry collection Carrying the World, and her first children’s book, The Patchwork Bike, will be published by Hachette in late 2016. More by Maxine Beneba Clarke › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 20 March 20262 April 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize seeks outstanding poetry from new and emerging writers. This year’s judges, Shastra Deo, Harry Reid and […] 20 March 202620 March 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize seeks outstanding original short fiction of up to 3000 words themed loosely around the notion […]
