Australia Poetry Magazine

Australia Poetry Magazine –

"Yarra Glen" by Graham Thorpe

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May 15th, 2026

Australia Poetry Contest #4 – First Place

Yarra Glen

by Graham Thorpe

We’re blessed to live in Yarra Glen, says Marj, my next-door neighbour.
Perhaps we do live in paradise.
On my daily walks around the local ponds, frogs proclaim their watery homes are supremely pure.
A graceful snow-white heron shares its habitat with a pair of stately pelicans. 
Rainbow lorikeets feast on nectar served by flowering gums.
Traipsing home the streets are empty. The houses shut.
Larry, my next-door neighbour-but-two is fitting floorboards in Montrose.
Luigi, who lives across the road, is mending a broken water main in Lilydale.
His neighbour, Debra, is busy styling hair in Healesville.
Why is heaven so crushingly quiet?
For relief, I visit the local supermarket at least twice, sometimes thrice, a day.
The cashiers are so courteous and polite.
It’s such respite to hear, Would you like a receipt? Enjoy the rest of your day.
But swiftly, the fathomless abyss reopens.

About the Poet
Graham Thorpe resides in Yarra Glen, Victoria, Australia.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Graham Thorpe's Artist Page.

This poem is also featured in Comet #8, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: beautiful nature, surburbia

Previously published in Australia Poetry Magazine:
Breadcrumbs
by Emma Robinson

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