Stefan Flanigan

I wrote this one by stacking menace onto stillness until it moved.

stygian-muse.com/the-last-bus/

It's funny how titles can echo differently for people. Thanks for sharing this: dreams pick strange moments to speak. And don't worry, I won't get on the bus!

Thanks!! I like it too.

New Poem: "The Last Bus"

'Something in me

contracts and

the dark along the edges

of light seems wider.'

stygian-muse.com/the-last-bus/

#poetry #stillness #night

counter/field: poems, prose, and observations.

November Notes: A descent - counter/field It’s been a while since the last big update and quite a lot has changed. First off, you may have noticed that the site is looking visually cleaner; I’ve made sure that each poem has an image and the p...

A longer update on counter/field this morning — notes, maps, and some broader shifts.

stygian-muse.com/november-not...

I’ve added a small page to the blog collecting the pieces set along the Brisbane River.

If you’re local, you might recognise a few places.

stygian-muse.com/brisbane-riv...

One unexpected thing about running a poetry blog is seeing where readers appear from. Yesterday it was Ukraine. Today it was Costa Rica. Poems travel in odd ways.

Thanks, Michael; I'm glad you liked it!

West End Tryptych - counter/field Three scenes from Brisbane’s West End — civility, voltage, and quiet composure. A study in how public voices shift tone as the listener withdraws.

New poem: "West End Tryptych"

'...a couple to the left, her voice carrying:

“I won’t be sweet-talked

into a fantasy”, the man

laughing softly, and I wonder

if the conversation is about love

or something else...'

#poetry #brisbane #syntax

stygian-muse.com/west-end-try...

On Attention: Vale Ellen Bryant Voigt - counter/field “Ruthless attention,” Voigt called it — the discipline to see what is there and what is not. Whether describing a difficult scene or a troubling interior state, she believed accuracy itself could be a...

New reflection: On Attention — Vale Ellen Bryant Voigt.
A short essay on precision, discipline, and what syntax can teach about seeing.

stygian-muse.com/on-attention...

#poetry #craft #EllenBryantVoigt #writing

New poem: "The Ferry and the Tree"

'The river spreads its hands; the sky grows,

its blueness distinct behind

ephemeral clouds, sun bright and hard,

heat soaking into everything, the humidity

alive.'

#poetry #brisbane #river #stillness #australianpoetry

stygian-muse.com/the-ferry-an...

Vale Ellen Bryant Voigt - without peer in attention to detail.

Field Notes between Storms - counter/field If you enjoyed ‘After the Storm’, you might like Day-Possum, Morning River Notes, or A Tiny Deity. They all involve observation and a positive emotional turn. Here’s something I wrote as a craft exerc...

New post: "Field Notes Between Storms"
It contains a new poem: 'Goanna' (no, it's not about goannas, but there's one in it). Also, there are a couple of links, and a subscriber update.
#poetry #update #collage
stygian-muse.com/field-notes-...

Thanks, Robin!

I write poems & field notes → stygian-muse.com

Begin here for context, samplers, & my posting rhythm.
New poems every Wednesday 10pm AEST.

I just updated my poetry homepage and it's looking a little bit fancy now. I'm not a fan of generic photos or AI images, so I do it by hand. It takes longer but it's more punk.
#poetry #collage
stygian-muse.com

Hey, thanks, Pedro. That storm had a bit of swagger and menace, I have to say. Cheers!

Cheers, Brad! I checked your blog out and liked it. Thanks for the repost!

After the Storm - counter/field A poem set in the afternoon heat, where humidity climbs and the sky darkens. A bank of pewter cloud muscles across the horizon from the south. Wind rises through the square as a man begins strange ges...

A new poem: "After the Storm"

'The sky is released and changed. An orange haze rises

from the horizon to blend with the delicate violet-blue

of now-quiescent clouds and a single crow flies south

to north.'

#poetry #stillness #ritual

Read the full poem here: stygian-muse.com/after-the-st...

The Oars, Forgotten - counter/field An observational poem: rowers adrift mid-river, oars forgotten, a magpie watching in the afternoon stillness.

Here's a quiet poem from the archive: "The Oars, Forgotten".

'The grass is rough underfoot as I sit in

an old lawn chair by the river. Birdsong

swells: mynahs, harsh crows, and the peep,

peep of a river-bird I cannot see.'

#poetry #stillness #observation

stygian-muse.com/the-oars-for...

Important Announcement: I am going to try to get a photo of Molly the Dog this weekend (She's also known as Good Girl, Very Good Girl, You're A Good Girl, Aren't You?, et cetera). Wish me luck!

Yeah man pretty amazing movie on many levels. Let us not forget Chappie while were at it.

Hey man, I've seen your reposts and I think it's me who should be doing the thanking. But you know what they say: never mind the bollocks.

I revisited a local spot of great sadness recently and took notes. Twice. I now have one good line and a resonant metaphor that I don't know what to do with. I'm unsure whether that place haunts me or if it's actually the other way around.

#poetry #writing

The Beforetimes - counter/field In the cooking room, the kettle begins to sing, and her voice answers — calling a name I no longer trust belongs to me.

After stillness comes strangeness.

'I heard her in the next room but

when I walked in, she

wasn’t there there

were only echoes.'

Poem: "The Beforetimes"

#poetry #poetrycommunity #stillness #surreal
stygian-muse.com/the-beforeti...

Indeed! She's a very good girl.

Yes, they are very good at it!

No - at the moment, this is the only place it lives.

Its the first ive heard of them but they seem cool. Fun fact: I taught myself how to make A5 booklets because they were out of print. Theres a couple in the foto. I will definitely do that in future

Thanks, Shevek!! It's always nice to see my poems and images resonating with people, so I am chuffed to no end.
#poetry #poetrycommunity #collage