Before by Janette Pieloor

.......................© J Pieloor
.......................Published by Walleah Press

.......................Reproduced on The Tuesday Poem with permission

.......................Editor: P. S. Cottier

.
Janette Pieloor had her first collection, Ripples Under the Skin, published earlier this year by Walleah Press, who are producing attractive and compelling books.  The cover, reproduced here, incorporates a photograph of the poet as a child.

I asked Janette if a poem from the book could be featured here, and was delighted when she gave permission, and chose 'Before'.  The deceptively simple piece deals elegantly with the loss of a loved one, and plays with our perceptions of time. Here is the back story to the poem, as provided by Janette:

The inspiration for this poem was when a friend told me that she had been lighting a candle each night, following her separation from her lover… 

'I thought I’d like a candle light in my bedroom. I lit one on a stand on my desk which also had shelves above it with papers, notes, etc. My bed backed onto the desk. I dozed off. I think my cat came in and walked along the desk, as she usually did, and caused the candle to flare. I woke to the sound of crackling; saw the flame had reached the wicker cane basket with papers in it, on the shelf above. On the desk I had one of my grandmother's large decorated bathroom tiles as a stand for my cup of tea or glass of water. I grabbed the tile and dropped it over the wicker basket and smashed the candle, the fire put out. The tile broke in half. The smell of burning lingered and I never lit a candle again.' 

 Janette lives in Canberra and states that she enjoys the city's creative environment.  She is an active member of the poetry scene.  This debut book is marked by an arresting combination of longing and the quietly sardonic; the type of work that demands more than one reading.

It was a pleasure to attend the launch of the collection, where members of the poet's family read.  I hope that Ripples Under the Skin is followed by other books in the near future.  It can be ordered from Walleah Press.

Editor P.S. Cottier lives in Canberra, too far from the sea. 

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.