Live Encounters Poetry & Writing January 2026.
Tasmanian psalm, poem by Esther Ottaway.
Tasmanian psalm
On this beach at the end of the earth
we are stepping on glories, tripping over them,
returning to each other with arms full
of objets d’art – sunbright orange sponges,
amethyst sea urchins astonishingly whole,
brides’ bouquets of viridescent sea ribbons
their nap lush as kitten ears,
smiling scallops robed in mulberry pearl,
apricot conches abrim with ocean reckonings
and more, and more. Piling them on a driftwood chaise,
we show and stroke, admire, recall, and are quieted.
Low snow on kunanyi in blazing winter sun,
salt and wet weed zinging in the air.
I forget the words I want.
© Esther Ottaway
The poem was previously published in Forty South.
Esther Ottaway is a Tasmanian/lutruwita poet who has won or been shortlisted for prizes including the Tom Collins, Woorilla, Bridport, Montreal, and Mslexia. Intimate, Low-voiced, Delicate Things won the $25,000 Tasmanian Literary Award. New books are She Doesn’t Seem Autistic and a landmark anthology of Australian disability writing, Raging Grace.