Bio
BN Oakman's poetry has been widely published in Australia (including in Best Australian Poems 2014 and 2015) and internationally. His collections include In Defence of Hawaiian Shirts (IP 2010) and Second Thoughts (IP 2014) plus two chapbooks. In 2016 the distinguished actor John Flaus recorded 25 of his poems on a CD titled What Did I Know? He was awarded a grant by the Australia Council. He was a nominee for the Pushcart Prize (USA) in 2014. www.bnoakman.com
BN Oakman
after
a friend who dwells in Nordic realms
says suicides spike when daffodils
first burst from thawing earth
and buds emerge on apple trees
as if such harbingers of new growth
auguring dark days are almost gone
unsettle souls long locked in gloom
fragile flowerings of courage daunted
hesitant buddings of hope ill-formed
we dread being trapped in pitiless light
traipsing trails unmapped to sunlit gardens