Tag: original poetry

  • Entrance

    IP - Barricade 1

    barricade yourself

     

    IP - Barricade 2

    contain, section, cordon this

     

    IP - Barricade 3

    scale wires, impale. 

     

    Posting as @indraniperera on Instagram, this is the second poem in my new series of haiku x photography; poems + photos series. If you want to join in the fun, tag me and use the hashtag #haikuinthreeparts.

     
    A haiku is a short Japanese poetry form of three lines where the first line contains five syllables, the second line has seven syllables and the third and final line has five syllables. Typically, there's also a turn, a shift or change in mood or tone between the second and third lines. It's seems deceptively easy but the challenge is conveying what you mean with as few words as possible. Traditionally haikus were written about nature by Japanese haiku masters such as Basho.
     
     
     
  • Flâneur

     

    IP - Flanuer 2

    crisp edges softened

     

    IP - Flanuer 1

    by rain. stepped on by leather

     

    IP - Flanuer 3

    final resting place. 

     

    Posting as @indraniperera on Instagram, this is the first poem in my new series of haiku x photography; poems + photos series. If you want to join in the fun, tag me and use the hashtag #haikuinthreeparts.

     
    If you are curious about the title of this poem, Wikipedia says: ‘Flâneur is a French noun referring to a person, literally meaning “stroller”, “lounger”, “saunterer”, or “loafer”, but with some nuanced additional meanings. Flânerie is the act of strolling, with all of its accompanying associations. A near-synonym of the noun is boulevardier.’
     
     
  • Poems

    You’ll find below a list of Indrani Perera’s poems that were published in print anthologies, literary journals (digital and analogue), as chapbooks and those that have placed in competitions or been awarded prizes. 

    You can buy Indrani’s poetry collections, pas de deux and Defenestration, here.

     

    Anthologies

    Dec 2024    pathika, (Heroines: An Anthology of Poetry Volume 5, editor Sarah Nicholson)

    Jun 2024    Notes From the Diaspora on Returning ‘Home’ (Being, Centre for Creative and Cultural Research)

    Jun 2024    Landline (Being, Centre for Creative and Cultural Research)

    Feb 2024     no good at sport (Finding My Feet, Melbourne Poets Union)

    Feb 2024     Seagrass Meadow (Finding My Feet, Melbourne Poets Union)

    Dec 2023     Settler’s Debt (Telling Australia’s Truth, Ginninderra Press)

    Sep 2023     Liquefy (Poetry D’Amour 2023, WA Poets Inc)

    Sep 2023     The Ocean of You (Poetry D’Amour 2023, WA Poets Inc)

    Dec 2022      dried apricots  (Shoot the Breeze, Girls on Key)

    Nov 2021      The Scientific Astrologer  (Eclectic Words, Geelong Writers Inc)

    May 2021      too late  (Milestones, Ginninderra Press)

    May 2020     Apis  (From the Inside Looking Out, Geelong Writers Inc)

    May 2020     We Ride the Night  (From the Inside Looking Out, Geelong Writers Inc)

    May 2020     Intergalactic Tourism  (I Protest, Ginninderra Press)

    Sep 2019       Gunnug Batur  (Mountain Secrets, Ginninderra Press)

    Aug 2019       Recipe For A Poem  (Brushstrokes: Ros Spencer Poetry Contest 2016-19, WA Poets Inc)

     

    Chapbooks

    Aug 2024   Anthropocene (Queensland Writers Centre)

     

    Journals

    Dec 2024     Notes to a Magpie Sitting on a Fence, Carolling to the Trees (Australian Poetry Journal, Issue 13.2: Desire)

    Dec 2023      Places You’ll Never Go and Things You Won’t See (Kalliope X, Issue 5: Spring)

    Nov 2023     Light Years (Science Write Now, Issue 9: Migration)

    Nov 2023     Yesterday is Today: the Migration of Memory (Science Write Now, Issue 9: Migration)

    Jul 2023        At the Foothills of the Dandenong Ranges (Jacaranda Journal)

    Jul 2023        Complicit: A Visual History of ‘Australia’ Since Invasion (Axon)

    Mar 2023      Uncanny Valley (Mantissa Poetry Review, Issue 2: Re)

    Mar 2023      Attention: Ferntree Gully (December 2020) (Mantissa Poetry Review, Issue 2: Re)

    Dec 2022       $7.86 (hākārā, Issue 17: Repetition)

    Dec 2022       Iteration (October 2022) (hākārā, Issue 17: Repetition)

    Oct 2022        Dystopian Dreams  (Eye to the Telescope, Issue 46: Quest)

    Sep 2022       The Poisoned Path  (The Crow, September 2022)

    Aug 2022       Life Support  (Gems Zine, Issue 22: Nature)

    Aug 2022       paper garden  (Gems Zine, Issue 22: Nature)

    Feb 2022        a different brew  (Burrow, February 2022: Gifting)

    Feb 2022        binding threads  (Burrow, February 2022: Gifting)

    Feb 2022        Catching Some Zeds  (Burrow, February 2022: Gifting)

    Feb 2022        The Toddy Tappers  (Cordite, Issue 104: Kin)

    Dec 2021        A Good Listener  (The Crow)

    Dec 2021        going viral  (The Victorian Writer, Summer 2021: Transformation)

    Aug 2021       all she left unsaid (Rochford Street Review, Issue 32)

    Aug 2021        Come Out and Play  (Rochford Street Review, Issue 32)

    Aug 2021        on the ferny creek trail  (Rochford Street Review, Issue 32)

    Aug 2021        Shimmer  (Rochford Street Review, Issue 32)

    Aug 2021        Summer Alive  (Rochford Street Review, Issue 32)

    Aug 2021        Two Girls and a Swing  (Rochford Street Review, Issue 32)

    Aug 2021        A Lexicon  (Pocketry, Issue 2)

    Jul 2021          Shelter  (More than Melanin, Issue 2: Intimacy in Solitude)

    Jun 2021         Nana’s Kitchen  (The Crow)

    May 2021        Vanishing Point  (Teesta Review Journal, Volume 4)

    May 2021        Kama Kunna Ena  (Teesta Review Journal, Volume 4)

    Mar 2021        White Fragility  (Not Very Quiet, Issue 8: Mask)

    Feb 2021         Never Seen  (Cordite, Issue 100: Brownface)

     

    Zines

    May 2025  Love vs Autumn (Slamtidote)

    Dec 2024   Haiku in the Hills (editor AJ D’Costa)

     

    Other

    Mar 2025     Far Flung Seeds (Phone-a-Poem, Red Room poetry)

    Sep 2024       by the book haiku (Poetry on the Big Screen at Northbridge Piazza, 2024 Perth Poetry Festival)  

    Sep 2024       introduced species (Poetry on the Big Screen at Northbridge Piazza, 2024 Perth Poetry Festival)

    Dec 2019       Edifice (Receipt Poetry, Yarra Libraries)

     

    Prizes

    Jul 2025        Longlisted                       Liquid Amber Poetry Prize

    Jun 2025      Longlisted                        Kathryn Purnell Poetry Prize

    Oct 2024       Longlisted                        2024 Frontier OPEN Poetry Prize   

    Apr 2024       Shortlisted                       Heroines’ Anthology (Volume 5, Global Poetry Edition)

    Oct 2023       Highly Commended       University of Canberra Vice Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize

    Oct 2023       Longlisted                         University of Canberra Vice Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize

    Oct 2022       Shortlisted                        Jean Stone Award   

    Aug 2022      Winner                              Red Room 30 in 30 Daily Winner, Day Four

    May 2022      Shortlisted                       Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Writing: Open Poetry Section

    Oct 2017        Winner                              Elyne Mitchell Prize: Non-Fiction Bonus Prize

     

    Residencies

    Sep 2024       Highly Commended       Terra, Varuna Residential Fellowship

     

     

  • The Bone Bride

    by Indrani Perera

     

    the bone bride

    the devil’s plight

    walking abroad

    this long night

     

    the bone bride

    the devil’s stride

    coming for me

    this dark tide

     

    the bone bride

    the devil’s strife

    takes me away 

    from this cold life

     

    Listen to the audio recording here:

    The Bone Bride by Indrani Perera

     

    This poem appears in Pas De Deux, Indrani Perera’s second collection of poetry.

     

  • Run On

    by Indrani Perera

     

    eat the animals

    rend the flesh

    fierce hunter

    run on

     

    sing the pain

    tell the truth

    story teller

    run on

     

    bend the line

    feel the pause

    sensitive reader

    run on

     

    Listen to the audio recording here:

    Run On by Indrani Perera

     

    This poem appears in Pas De Deux, Indrani Perera’s second collection of poetry.

     

     

  • Burn

    by Indrani Perera

     

    the blood, the blood

    runs deep

    they say

     

    the earth, the earth

    stands firm

     

    the air, the air

    smells sweet 

    they say

     

    the earth, the earth

    stands firm

     

    the tears the tears

    heal all

    they say

     

    my soul

          my soul

                 still burns

     

    Listen to the audio recording here:

    Burn by Indrani Perera

     

    This poem appears in Pas De Deux, Indrani Perera’s second collection of poetry.

     

  • A Friend Of Mine

    by Indrani Perera

     

    joy popped round last week

    unannounced

    for a brief visit

     

    I was rushing around the house

    in my trackky dacks

    putting away the groceries

    getting dinner on and washing the dishes

    if I’d have known she was popping in

    I would have brushed my hair

    put on some glitter and a clean pair of jeans

     

    she stayed long enough to share

    the beauty and wonder

    or my daughters’ imaginary play

    just as I was beginning to see

    she left

    as quickly as she came

     

    Listen to the audio recording here:

    A Friend of Mine by Indrani Perera

     

    This poem appears in Pas De Deux, Indrani Perera’s second collection of poetry.

     

  • Summer Alive

    by Indrani Perera

     

    sun kissed

    skin

    sting

     

    wind whipped

    hair

    blind

     

    rock wrecked

    feet

    pierced

     

    wave washed

    body

    wham!

     

    burnt, messy

    dirty, salty

    breathless

    – here

     

    Listen to the audio recording here:

    Summer Alive by Indrani Perera

     

    This poem appears in Pas De Deux, Indrani Perera’s second collection of poetry.

     

  • The Shift

    by Indrani Perera

     

    there’s this thing

    it happens in brilliant poems

    where you’re listening

    or reading the words

    swept up in the imagery

    of a slide curving and swerving

    from the top of a treehouse

    to the bottom

    when suddenly

    on the way down 

    the slide

    turns into someone’s insides

    and you’re running your fingers

    along the walls of her womb

     

    Listen to the audio recording here:

    The Shift by Indrani Perera

     

    This poem appears in Pas De Deux, Indrani Perera’s second collection of poetry.

    A big thank you to Michelle McCowage whose brilliant poem inspired this poem.

     

     

  • Flight

      IP - Flight 1

    IP - Flight 2

    IP - Flight 3

    The words are an excerpt from Flight, a poem I have been working on recently. Birds are incredible. I love the way ducks effortlessly glide across the water and then cheekily come looking for bread crumbs.

    Let me know what you think of the poem in the comments.