I ate oranges and didn’t know they tasted like sunsets from Castle Hill.

I

Summer

Dear K.

Far North Queensland is lovely and so lush, I couldn’t imagine,

And I miss you.

And when it is too hot to not swim,

And a flock of seagulls fly lazily

To a searing chip,

Think of Cairns,

And my air-conditioned heart, wishing

On a photograph of home.

Nick

II

States

Dear M., D., & L.

FNQ is dreamier than I imagined.

To think,

I ate oranges and didn’t know

They tasted like sunsets from Castle Hill.

To know,

I steamed broccoli and couldn’t feel

Their fronds cover and cook Borderline Beach.

Nick

III

Swimmers

Dear M.H.

FNQ is incredible. I haven’t felt this peacefulness in a while:

My eyes are rubbed raw

As pink dirt

Between the woody mountain

And the stinging sea.

Nick

IV

Photos

Dear R.

FNQ is breathtaking. I am free and inspired by bright greens.

We passed Tully, exposed to rain, saw sugar steam

Fly over the green, and tasted the sweet

Drops through the window

And camera screen.

Nick

V

Lullabies

Dear V.

There are many beautiful birds in FNQ,

They sing with their hearts and loudly.

It’s beautiful to sleep with their song:

As the kookaburra snaps a death adder

In its jovial jaws, so the olive-backed sunbird

Cleaves the humid night with its

Flavourful song.

Nick

VI

Mountains

Dear M.L.

FNQ is very pretty! Am warm and relaxed.

The emerald hills speak their own language, of

Semaphore or scent I don’t know, but

I suspect if they are bilingual, it is with

The language of the vigorous sea.

Nick

VII

Storms

Dear J.

You’ll be delighted to know that

As we reached Tully, it began to rain.

Pressure is so low up here that

Clouds beach themselves like seals or gibbons

Over the green hills,

And deflect their floating tails

On the sky’s pools.

Nick

Postcards from the North