A Poem to My Mother That She Will Never Read
Hello there, I have a new poem out in the world, 'A Poem To My Mother That She Will Never Read', which has won the 2021 International Mslexia Poetry Competition. I got the phone call from the editor of Mslexia in the UK telling me I'd won the prize the day before my mother's funeral. What an incredibly bitter-sweet moment. photo credit: Glenn Hayden It's a special win for me because the poem recounts what turned out to the last time I saw my Mum in July 2021. I flew to Perth from Adelaide to see her in November but while we were in the air the West Australian Premier, Mark McGowan, made the decision that all passengers from South Australia would have to quarantine for 2 weeks. My planned trip was only for 10 days. So, I landed in W.A and 2 hours later I was on a plane back to S.A., without seeing my Mum The same hard border controls were in place when I arrived in Perth in January when I knew Mum was in the terminal phase of palliative care. ie She was dying. But
