New Poetry by Mark Roberts

Darkness. Orange. Circa 1966

this darkness so thick
    you can raise an arm
        and reach into it

night clouds cover moon and stars
    there is nothing outside
        no street lights no car headlights
   
i lie in a bed under a mountain of blankets
    the wind moving trees beyond the window
        unknown sounds
   
dogs bark cows bellow
        scratching sounds
            there is no difference
   
between opening your eyes
        or keeping them
            closed


- Mark Roberts 2019

Mark Roberts is a writer, critic and publisher who is based in the Blue Mountains, NSW. He is the founding editor of the Rochford Street Review and runs Rochford Press with Linda Adair. His collection, Concrete Flamingos, was published by Island Press in 2016.