J V Birch

Crayfish, pilchards,

ocean jackets and sharks

Octopus, sea urchins,

sea snails and scallops

Sand crabs, abalone,

garfish and whiting

Shush,

the oysters are sleeping.

J V Birch lives in Adelaide. Her poems have appeared in anthologies, journals and magazines across Australia, the UK, Canada and the US. She has two collections – Smashed glass at midnight and What the water & moon gave me – by Ginninderra Press, and is working on her third.