TUNNEL CREEK
ALM 92, August 2026
POETRY
Tunnel Creek
(after a visit to the Kimberleys, Western Australia)
the afternoon is sloping
silence mantles the creek
an old crocodile rests its snout
in the lazy tangled grasses
old roots knotted thirsty
strangle one another
the fight for water evidenced
by every inch of dry red soil
sandstone ramparts
ave seen a billion years
and life,
life goes on
Temple in the grass
(by the Mimbi Caves, Western Australia)
who made this temple at Mimbi
gentled its rock walls
gathered water in its pools
a breeze channels peace
between primeval chasms
orange gashes in the grey
and my spell broken
by a human voice
uninvited asking
can anyone tell me
what day this is?
James Aitchison is an Australian author and poet whose work has appeared in the Adelaide Literary Magazine, Australian Poetry Anthology, Quadrant, Literary Yard, Aesthetica, and many other journals. His children’s stories became the Netflix series, Mr Midnight: Beware the Monsters.
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