JOSHUA HESTER

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Whispers From Illyria
(2022-25)





I

The body
from earth to sky
Fills with light
everything floats up
and out
and down
                           

II
The townhouse
dusky daytime moon
Almost fully formed

I bow          


III

a mind speaks
from a cave

the stable mountain
sways in the wind
                           

IV
Noises in your head
That cannot be explained
Drift and ride on the breath
of a dragon’s tongue    


V

the kids feet
patter on the oak floor
shrouded in laughter

a young girl refuses
to loosen her laces                           


VI
circling the tower of a school
before descending into the room with many chairs
There’s a boy at the back, leant up against the wall

trying so hard  


VII

The ache in his heart
The weight of a thousand tickets
Green volume returns
                           

VIII
Tear drops in a river
Mean nothing to a heron

Wind blows one moment
Across the stream

I’m laughing the next        


IX

In the forest
Even if rain comes
I will stay with you
The Girl, born from bamboo
                           

X
Soil that allows roots to grow
Metal-free skies
Children laughing
Dusty bookshop bell    


XI

Sat on the edge of liquid spring
Watching Willow
Nurture a dying lily
it breathes
           Grows
              then
                    goes
                           

XII
a
broken
mirror
in the middle
of Fairfield park
waits for green gold
to fill its cracks        


XIII

Luna leaves 
her scars of approaching light
Become the night that less wander
                           

1
Oh the land is arising
On the seas of her horizon
Inside—Her eyes
You can see
What was meant to be
A golden mine  


2
Running beyond his days and nights
The chains of dawn
begin to break.

The rain keeps falling.
This old rhythm, with new steps
knew what to be called.                       


3Between, there’s a space Unseen
or so it seems

Between, the sea and soil seems to guarantee
The oil will never rise.


4

Through the daze, a spirit kissed us
as it says there is a subtle difference
between The imagines of water held
and the feeling of letting go



5The mania settles, The dance dies
Inside something Still wiggles
My body is warm    


6

i warm my palms in the steam
now they smell of camomile
my throat burns in a way that i am grateful
                           

7
This clarity through the valley
Takes dawn to break
the chirps of river birds


8
The whistle blows, carriage doors
an opening, the window leaves

The time it took you to notice you,
wasn't enough for this life
                     

9The spines in the sky, wrapping together
fade into the blue of a new coast line
All at once  


10
The waves of people passing
Show me their scars of life
A strong wind reflects 
in the black glass


11How come I can hear
the cracks of pavement slabs
and the creeks of native trees
When the memories I own
Aren't even mine


12
In the name of fading
Falling back felt like bearings
that lost true north
                           

13Scalping grass
Sunday evening birdsong
Breaking to drink water,
So my arms can rest



—Only the birds
can know
how far I’ve travelled?

—Soft-spoken birdsong
The house with no roof
A branch waves to the wind

—The city barks
I am hidden in the space between
How many cars have these stones known

—I the yellow-stained bush, dance
I the machine, watch much of it
I the horizon, absorb this silver structure

—The Great Mother Tree
Not even the wind
Can unearth its roots

—Shadows of the crooked wire
This wind carries my view of the world
A village disappears into the sky




...

A List of Inspirations

13.One Robe, One Bowl Ryokan
14.
15.
Break the Mirror Nanao Sakaki
Bright Moon, White Clouds Li Po