M.L.Emmett was born and educated in Reading, Berkshire, England before coming to Australia with her family. They arrived on the last boat through the Suez Canal during the 1967 Middle East War. Maggie trained as a Registered Nurse at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital (ACH) and the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH). She did the Intensive Care Course at the RAH and worked in a range of areas including: CCU; ICU & Retrieval. She completed an Arts Degree at the University of Adelaide working part-time jobs during holidays, including: vampire at the Blood Bank; Relieving Matron at both Hawker & Freeling District Hospitals; Charge Sister at Illoura; and many contracts in ICU at Ashford, Calvary, Flinders, Modbury & Repatriation Hospitals. Maggie returned to the ACH working as a Senior RN in Casualty for 4years, during which time she completed an Honours Degree, part-time over two years. She studied Literary Critical Theory with Professor Ken Ruthven and Poetry & Poetics with Tom Shapcott & Andrew Taylor. She won a Commonwealth Scholarship to undertake her PhD and during her research she taught as a Tutor and Lecturer at the University of Adelaide. She last worked in Media Studies in 2005. She also completed a DipEd at the University of SA, specialising in English, Computer Sciences and Design, and taught at Adelaide High School. Maggie also trained at Radio 5UV and was a book, theatre and film reviewer for 5 years (from 1977 – 1982) and retrained at Radio Adelaide in 2005. She is also a Legal Services qualified Mediator.
Maggie rejoined FSP in 2005, joining FSP Board in 2006. She worked as the FSP Publishing Officer, Publicity Officer, Mentorship Co-ordinator, Art Gallery Co-ordinator & Poets On Air Co-ordinator before becoming Convenor and Treasurer for four years. Maggie co-edited Rewired FSP 32nd Anthology with Gaetano Aiello . Her manuscript Snatching Time was selected by acclaimed poet Ken Bolton for publication in New Poets 14, with Rob Hardy and Thomas Sullivan.
She is a professional editor, book reviewer, writer and poet.
THE FORENSIC SCIENCE OF GRIEF
You breathed your last breath from the air
in this room;
that threadbare Persian carpet
holds flakes from your skin;
hairs from your head
corkscrew the dented cushions
scattered and idly waiting on the sofa;
bed linen scented with your sweat
the goose down doona that stole
your last warmth;
sleep spit and tears
human moisture that permeates
the acrylic layers of your pillow;
an eyebrow hair wedged in the tweezers;
a clipped nail that flew off
somewhere out of sight;
that new toothbrush used only once;
your flannel and towel still drying out;
the wet press footprint on the bathroom mat;
the talcum powdered slippers
abandoned under the brass bed.
Each moment of everyday
we shed ourselves
shed dead cells and renew –
a cycle of shedding
until the last
shedding of ourselves.
Friendly Street Poets Anthology 31 UnRuly Sun edited by Erica Jolly & Ivan Rehorek
SONNET FOR A SUICIDE
Inspired by Robert Pinsky
Morning sun on his face
steady motor murmur
vibrating the hose
Bluebells clamber
over the hill’s top –
nothing to remember
only the same engine noise
that keeps making the same sounds
under his head poised
and pulsing the same beat
no-one to say his name,
no need, no-one to praise him
only the engine’s voice – over
and over, running under him.
FSP New Poets 14: Snatching Time
TURKISH SMYRNA
This carpet – a Turkish Smyrna –
is made with Gordian knots,
tied by the fine fingers of a child
tied to a loom
by a thin, pale leg.
Every centimetre – a hundred knots
This carpet – two and a half million knots
all Gordian
tied tightly
by the fine fingers of a child.
Each thread is dyed with plants
picked by nomad hands
from shifting lands
Henna oranges and Madder reds
Saffron yellows and Indigo blues
Colours bloom and fade
with the change of seasons.
Patterns are centuries old,
never drawn or sketched,
only sung to the young
by the old blind weavers,
who walk the workshops
and the aisles of looms.
In this shadow world
of soured and fetid air
dreamless children
live threadbare under a black sun.
Wide borders holding everything in place
no figures or stories, just a labyrinth
of abstract shape and colour
drawing you in to the treasure
at the centre of the rug.
And the knowledge of the knots
the Gordion knots
tied by the fine fingers of a child
tied to a loom
by a thin, pale leg.
FSP New Poets 14: Snatching Time
BAVARIAN AUNT
Aunt Lottie had a slow and careful walk
every step could jar
the delicate balance
of the fragile grand piano
she had swallowed.
It was no ordinary instrument
it was entirely made of crystal
which added to the fears
of its disturbance
or destruction
by the simplest slip or stumble
or missed footing on a step.
It was a slight inconvenience
she had taken in her stride.
Matters concerning the said piano
were only discussed in hushed tones
on Wednesday afternoons
and only with her dearest nephew, Ludwig
who sensitively seemed to understand
the precious nature of imagination
and the tickling discomforts
of digested furniture and such things
as fancy may create.
Friendly Street Poets:36 Flying Kites edited by Judy Dally & Louise McKenna
© M.L.Emmett