Croc Dreaming
By Julie Maclean
Published 12 February 2021
All night freight trains roar in,
whirl about my galleon, sails billowing,
spiky shadows of palm fronds casting
all about like Bunyip’s claws
I lie in my canvas listening
to treetop winds
So much energy
searching for a destination
Like the blonde at Cooktown with the scarred
arms and dog with frightened eyes
in the beaten-up Hi Lux with the broken axle,
limping south
She’s crossed the Jardine
jumping reptiles,
destination unknown
Brown mole shaped
like a reef islet
on the right side
of her dry mouth