"Tourist—Limerick" by Libby Hart

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The cry of a gull from God-knows-where

And the church bells

And the cars forever passing

And the girl screaming at the stopped car

And the horns tooting

And the girl saying: That’s crap, that is

And the little man in the passenger seat laughing his head off

And the lights of Paddy Power, all bright and shiny

And the smell of coal-smoke

And the cheap hotel room

where 1,000 other people have rested their sorry souls

And the broken tiles in the shower

And the chenille bedspreads

And the lace curtains that embrace the smell of cigarette smoke

And the red-emblazoned newsagent across the way

And the slick of the road as cars drive by like one endless engine

And the L-plate drivers who park their cars like dodgems

And the presence of a lack of presence

(and all that is left is desperation)

Here, a young girl scurries with a 12-pack of toilet rolls

against the roof of a pram

There, an old man sways in a gale all of his own making
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©  Libby Hart

Published in This Floating World
Five Islands Press 2011

Reproduced on The Tuesday poem with permission.

Editor: Jennifer Compton

This lovely, fresh-faced, percipient book of poetry has done well for itself and it has caught the judge's eye three times. It's not a bit surprising because it is such a frisky yet elegant work, with an over-arching narrative that is elusive and seductive. Honestly it was like traveling around Ireland, clocking that, over-hearing this, breathing in the spirit of the place. And the craic is good. Libby lives in Melbourne and I bump into her from time to time, but somehow or other I have missed out on hearing her read. I must remedy that really soon.
Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Shortlisted for the Age Book of the Year Awards
Longlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards

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Libby Hart’s first collection of poetry, Fresh News from the Arctic, received the Anne Elder Award and was shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Prize. She is a recipient of an Australia Council for the Arts residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in County Monaghan, Ireland and a DJ O’Hearn Memorial Fellowship at The Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. Her poem, ‘The Briefcase Phenomenon’ was chosen for the inaugural Poetry in Film Festival in 2010 and filmmakers produced short films inspired by it. In the same year This Floating World was devised for stage and performed by Teresa Bell and Gavin Blatchford. These performances received the Shelton Lea Award for Best Group Performance at the 9th Melbourne Overload Poetry Festival Awards.

To find out more, you may like to click on:

http://fiveislandspress.com/catalogue/this-floating-world

Today's editor, Jennifer Compton, lives in Melbourne. Five Islands Press published Now You Shall Know last year, and this year Mākaro Press published her verse novella Mr Clean & The Junkie.

In addition to today's feature be sure to check out the wonderful poems featured by the other Tuesday Poets, using our blog roll to the left of this posting.