home to gravel, ants and little shells 
		not one hint of green peeps through the stones 
summer beats its harsh relentless drum, 
		winter lends a cloak of bitter cold 
rains drip over stories no one tells 
		around this lonely plot quiescence owns 
two lie resting in a place for one 
		a boy aged twelve, the girl not two years old 
no one has discovered what befell 
		why do breezes blow bleak overtones? 
perhaps some stories cannot be expunged 
		in this town of shafts, above the toll 
by all-abiding Wesley Chapel bells 
		grief is an organ—and its bellows swell 


	old mine shaft 
	gilded with sunlight 
	at day’s end 
	a pair of canaries 
	twitters overhead 

Author’s Note:

The tanka “old mine shaft” was first published in Blithe Spirit (33:3, 2023).

Hazel Hall

is a widely published Canberra poet and musicologist who enjoys collaborating with other artists. She founded and coordinated the ekphrastic poetry group School of Music Poets from 2012 to 2017 and directed the Poetry at Manning Clark House readings series from 2018 to 2022. Her writing ranges from short Japanese styles to free verse and prose poetry. In 2023 she judged her third international tanka competition and won Second Prize in the John Bird Dreaming Award for haiku.

Hazel’s recent collections include Step By Step: Tai Chi Meditations (Picaro Poets, 2018); Moonlight over the Siding (Interactive Press, 2019); Severed Web (Picaro Poets, 2020); a verse play for radio, Please Add Your Signature and Date it Here (Litoria Press, 2021); and Breathe In, Breathe Out (Picaro Poets, 2023). Her collection A Hint of Rosemary is forthcoming in 2024.

Hazel holds a PhD from Monash University. See a sample of her work at: https://vimeo.com/538941444