Published in Overland Issue 229 Summer 2017 · Uncategorized From Nonets Stuart Barnes Kindness and the mask of kindness are the same: a kindly man, with blue irony and kindness. Ashbery days with the wrong kinds of changes a kind of translucence a kind of moon The city is a kind of hospice. The people are hard-eyed, kindly, with nothing inside them, Each message is a kind of poem, Thought is all sadness; but night is all kindness: the stars are on high. What kind of father are you Why do I turn from the honey of life to the blood-kindling wine? What kind of creature What kind of weather is risk? ‘from Nonets’ is a cento from MTC Cronin’s ‘LXIV [Your faded clothes flutter like a flag]’, David Malouf’s ‘Epitaph for a Monster of Our Times’, Robert Adamson’s ‘The Flow-Through’, Lee Cataldi’s ‘the simple past’, Jill Jones’ ‘Edge/Past’, joanne burns’ ‘[at 8 a.m.]’, Geoff Page’s ‘The Hospice’, James McAuley’s ‘Envoi’, Geoff Page’s ‘The Lonely Phone’, J Brunton Stephens’ ‘Convict Once’, John Kinsella’s ‘Circus’, Dorothy Porter’s ‘Cold (1)’, Philip Salom’s ‘Two Kinds of Weather’ Read the rest of Overland 229 If you enjoyed this poem, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four outstanding issues for a year Stuart Barnes Stuart Barnes is the author of Glasshouses (UQP 2016), which won the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, was commended for the Anne Elder Award and shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award. Twitter/Instagram: @StuartABarnes More by Stuart Barnes › 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 3 June 20263 June 2026 · Reviews The past in the object: Vanessa Berry’s Calendar Courtney Powell In her latest book, Calendar, Vanessa Berry explores the relationships that are formed between people and material culture, both fleeting and sentimental, and how they can come to represent us. 1 June 2026 · Culture We were all workers on GeoCities Maria Dudko GeoCities remains an important reminder that collective labour on the internet is not new — and that recognising ourselves as workers is the first step towards organising as such.
