Published in Overland Issue Print Issue 198 Autumn 2010 · Writing / Main Posts settler’s mess Duncan Hose Having spent some years before the mast He became skipper of a flute Resumed his savage habits. He closed the yawning gap in the map Passed meticulously that fateful autumn and winter Almost continually … extraordinary. In his commodore’s brocaded frock and louche Hand, broad buttoned and boned Captain’s ribbon and Banks’s red star The rhythm of the deck, black sick. Built breeches Bays, rivers, islands, Knatchbull, rube lip Buttery ensign Salty Navy naval castoffs Bathurst to Mount York Insanity of the will as opposed to the intellect: ‘moral Insanity’ Gooseberry Widow of King Bungaree Due ceremony for your bogus title Your early smile Cicatrice your beautiful shoulders bastard Hobartian Gurgling affection from the swish branches Darling’s soft pneumonia Mesmerised by his London Lion quilltip Duterrau French paintings of pearl buttons So many English faces Brig Cyprus, overland on shoulders to Emu plains Torture is personal, mudguts Raised by Robert Percy Simpson, learn English Convert Early ‘aussies’ with cocky high court Sulphur hairdos, framed by the sparkling dust as young Athenians, well loved lambies, Macarthur’s face like a ramp Night, fresh seal, importunate blood braids Thomasine, Henrietta, day school in Sydney Where we think We put the bones of Gracie Soon we’ll have a derby day – top hat abstraction Gadfly The Melbourne headmaster is in the explorer room Fingering some important gob Of nickel His dirty daughter Vicky contemplates The green head of melba, medusa, touching the Ridges and gulches of the paintings Saturday morning upholstered with the silks And dressing-gowns of Chinese Australia. Duncan Hose Duncan Hose is runner-up in the 2009 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets. He is a poet and postgraduate scholar, currently living in Melbourne. More by Duncan Hose › 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 First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202315 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize ($6500) Editorial Team Supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, and named after the late Neilma Gantner, this prize seeks excellent short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. This competition is open to all writers, nationally and internationally, at any stage of their writing career. First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202312 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Judith Wright Poetry Prize ($9000) Editorial Team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name (that is writers who’ve had zero collections published, or one solo collection published). It remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets, and is open to poets anywhere in the world. In 2023, the major prize is $6000, with a second prize of $2000 and a third prize of $1000. All three winners will be published in Overland.
