i.m. Martin Harrison
Anne Elvey
slightly cheaply suddenly simply seriously
occasionally distantly
slowly nearly recently finally
usually mostly perfectly
occasionally consciously
nearly daily
only only entirely entirely
apparently frantically really quietly
differently simply listlessly carelessly
newly already loosely mostly early
sincerely only only
suddenly suddenly invisibly suddenly
differently definitely
probably nearly likely nervously only usually
already practically only
momentarily blindly
mostly suddenly absently
clearly scarcely secretly
invisibly invisibly
hardly already already fleetingly only
exquisitely eternally
* The words in the title and the last line come from Martin Harrison, “A Word”, published in The Best Australian Poems 2009 (Black Inc), the rest in order from his collection Summer (Paper Bark Press, 2001).
Anne Elvey is author of Kin (Five Islands 2014) and This Flesh That You Know (Leaf Press 2015). She is managing editor of Plumwood Mountain, and counted Martin as a mentor in that role. Anne met Martin only a few times at conferences, over meals and through editorial email conversations, and had looked forward to many more such meetings.