We Carry the Cave

We Carry the Cave

Bill Jenkins

We Carry the Cave

ISBN 978 1 76041 612 6

Copyright © text Bill Jenkins 2018

Cover photo: Campfire – Stirling Ranges National Park, by Jesse

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be sent to the publisher at the address below.

First published 2018 by

Ginninderra Press

PO Box 3461 Port Adelaide 5015 Australia

www.ginninderrapress.com.au

Contents

Preface

We Carry the Cave

For my wife, Heather,

our children,

Alex, Hugo and Cleo,

and our grandchildren,

lsabella, lsaac,

Wolfgang and Stirling

Preface

Recently, while giving a talk at the Melbourne Savage Club, the question ‘Does poetry matter?’ was raised. This book concerns one reason why poetry matters, in a personal sense.

Like other human activities – such as art, sculpture, writing, sport, dance, gardening and so on – poetry is an expression of the self. We reveal who we are through what we do, what we produce. Some activities are of course more revealing than others! It is also true that some poetry is more revealing than other poetry.

My poetry is very personal; it is driven by and reflects my interests and my personal experience. It is a vehicle for my identity and provides an indirect, yet discernible self portrait.

When I was about three years old, my Scottish maternal