Poetry

Little Blue Penguins

by  Alison Wong
Photo: visitmelbourne.com
Photo: visitmelbourne.com

               dusk, Summerland Beach, Phillip Island

here they come rush of learners jerky gear 
shifts and no idea about cruise control it’s 

a wonder there one goes tiny tailgater bouncing 
off a back bumper the odd mamma driving 

the other way she don’t need no 
GPS she’s just heading out for shell-grit  

some lil piece of sanity it’s big lights 
big city every hole and box and dice  

full of dinnertime hush little babies don’t 
you cry the fish are jumping and the grass is high 


Photo by Nitch Photography

Alison Wong is a fourth-generation New Zealander living in Geelong, Australia. Her poetry collection, Cup, was shortlisted for Best First Book for Poetry at the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and her poetry was selected for Best New Zealand Poems 2006, 2007, and 2015. Her novel, As the Earth Turns Silver, won the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the 2010 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. She is working on another novel and a memoir about New Zealand, Australia, and China.

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