Marilyn Humbert

Harbingers

a crow’s caw
gathers the flock
to roost
watchful eyes
in a dead stringybark    

We’re camped at Dunn’s Swamp in Wollemi National Park. Slumping in a folding chair, he holds a book in his right hand. For the first time I notice his left-hand twitching, shaking. He changes the book to his other hand, now the right hand begins to tremble. I pretend I’m reading. 

Later that afternoon, we walk the tracks to the beehive-domed granite monoliths surrounding the swamp.  Is he walking slower, less nimble, growing tired quicker? I can almost keep up.

the thickening
storm line expands
in turmoil
with heart clenching
I turn into the wind

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About the Author

Marilyn Humbert lives in the Northern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Her tanka and haiku appear in international and Australian journals, anthologies, and online. Her free-verse poems have been awarded prizes in competitions, published online and in anthologies.

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