Careers in Geology

Researchers look beyond the karst peaks,
those fluke skeletons fur-coated in scrub,
stone cliques you’ll meet from every direction.

Their interest meanders away from those rocks
that bunker the rain. They check tone and tinge
of stone, in the field and for each presentation.

As the memory stick flickers in the slot,
they hum along to the rise of the hills. Pressure,
lava and sediment are the processes of formation.



The Iron Trees Bloom

It’s a coaldust town where we quarry and smelt,
and bushes preen their black feathers.
Only the next hill is there as detonations
splash round the ridges. No time to rest:
the panting trucks reverse to spill rocks.

New Year cracks and whistles in the haze.
From out of ferns the great lizards trod
thin yellow wings ignite concrete steps
up the hillside where iron trees blossom
once in a century. Expect fossils.