Journeys

Here are three more poems which were entries for the recent Peter Dix Memorial Prize for Poetry, this time by IV former Mark Russell:


The Path She Walked

As she followed the path she had chosen
She contemplated her footsteps
Making no impression on
The path she walked.
Her steps were sure.
More sure than when she made her way home
With pebbles and words
Hurled at her;
More sure than passing through her open front door
Into the rooms stained with
Stale beer and undried tears.
But now committed, she followed her path,
With the salty wind blowing in her hair,
And the jagged rocks below her
That rushed up to meet her.



Strangers Together
Like grey cells in a test tube
We sit together
Silently hoping not to notice each other.

Pushing up a wall between you and
The person an inch away.
A wall made of lined paper
Or earphones.

And as the outside world flashes by
The steamed up window
Blurs it all

And you wait
For the train to bring you home.


All Roads Lead To Rome

They say that
All roads lead to Rome.
It seems as good a destination as
Anywhere;
It’s not here.

So I’ll take that road.
And I’ll follow it to Rome.
And it will take me
Away from my home.

And I know everything stays the same.
Wherever I am,
Nothing ever changes.
But while I follow the road
To some place else
At least
I can dream.