THE SCIENCE OF LIFE
ALM No.91, July 2026
POETRY
The science of life
(a Stoic pantoum)
No man is good by accident
Seneca said virtue has to be learnt
The enlightened man separates body from spirit
Why be seduced by convention?
Seneca said virtue has to be learnt
Retreat into yourself as much as you can
Why be seduced by convention?
Devotion to what is right is simple
Retreat into yourself as much as you can
The path that leads to pleasure is the downward one
Devotion to what is right is simple
May your faults die before you do
The path that leads to pleasure is the downward one
The enlightened man separates body from spirit
May your faults die before you do
No man is good by accident
The bay
Half-mooned,
it holds
a sunset
becalmed,
the slack tide
in search of
a shore,
while
a lone swan
crafts its
passage
to the reeds.
another day in my body
(a graffiti poem)
intransigence just for fun
toenail to (rest) my head
Buddha creating words
the dark a means of worship
pillow on my foot dementia
hard to cut contained
by markers a vulnerable world
swept clean
James Aitchison is an Australian author and poet. His work has appeared in the Adelaide Literary Magazine, the Australian Poetry Anthology, Quadrant, Aesthetica, Poetry for Mental Health, Literary Yard, Poppy Road Review, and many others.
Subscribe to FREE digital flip copy of the Adelaide Magazine printed edition.