page 37

Makara

Goat-track over
Higher ground. Then a
Drop. Soldiers once gouged
A whole field flat,
Out of the hillside.
Irregular groove
And rut. Three walled ends.

The fourth an expanse
Of arching, falling
Hills. The knife of
A narrow creek-bed.
Scree wasting the bare
Walls. Stubborn grasses
Making a last stand.

Andrew Loughnan