My Poem “You & Me”

November 28, 2025 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 4 Comments

You & Me

Your silence

is a closed door.

Some people

would kiss a house full of frogs

rather than knock to come in.

When a parakeet sits quietly

twittering to himself

or grinding his beak,

he is happy and content.

A parakeet does not like

living alone though,

does not thrive if he is.

What about you?

Or could we move to

a different room,

one in which the door is left open,

perhaps?

Sydney’s Libby Sommer worked in film and TV production at ABC Television for some years prior to starting her own public relations business. Her poetry, short stories and non-fiction have appeared in literary journals and other publications in Australia and overseas. She is also the author of a number of poetry collections, and novels. More about Libby and her writing can be found at her website, and her appearance in last week’s Poet’s Corner can be read here.

Publication by 5 Islands Press

October 22, 2025October 22, 2025 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 9 Comments

I’m over-the-moon delighted that 5 Islands Press has selected my new manuscript titled “The Rub of Urban Life” for publication in 2026/2027.

“The Rub of Urban Life” is a collection of my poetry, poetic prose, and candid black & white street photographs. A blend of words and images.

A big thank you and much gratitude to publishers, Mark Tredinnick and Steve Meyrick.

Good News

October 6, 2025 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 8 Comments

Some very good news: I have a half page prose poem “You Remember” in this month’s October Quadrant Magazine. It’s always a big thrill to see my name up there. Thanks, as always, to Literary Editor Professor Barry Spurr.

My Poem, ‘Bewildered’

June 4, 2025 ~ Libby Sommer ~ Leave a comment

Have a read of my poem ‘Bewildered’, first published in Quadrant Magazine and one of the poems in my collection, ‘Flat White, One Sugar‘ (Ginninderra Press). The book is illustrated by my granddaughter, Natasha Sommer, a graduate of the National Art School.

I hope you enjoy it.

Bewildered:

When I was four

I asked my big brother

Is mum the wicked

queen from Snow White?

He fell about with laugher,

then wrestled me to the ground

using his knees to pin

my shoulders to the floor.

My brother, the bully.

But I loved him.

Years later, when our mother said she

had heart problems, my brother told her

it was impossible.

How can you? he said.

You don’t have a heart.

The questions still disturb me to this day.

Tactics

April 23, 2025 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 2 Comments

Have a read of my poem ‘Tactics’, first published in Quadrant Magazine. ‘Tactics’, inspired by my own struggles on the tennis court, is one of the poems in my latest poetry collection, ‘Flat White, One Sugar‘, Ginninderra Press.

I hope you enjoy it.

Tactics:

A woman is hitting back & forth

across the net, a peaked cap

secured by her ponytail.

Can she overcome the self-doubt,

anxiety & lapses of concentration?

She mustn’t let her mind

be the winner in this battle.

Right here, right now,

she’s in control,

even in the wind,

alternating her drives

to the far corners of the court.

Nothing distracts her,

not the noisy leaf blower

or her male opponent

with superior physical strength.

Tactics are her best weapon.

Now she is serving,

tossing the ball high,

straight as an arrow,

reaching up,

accelerating,

out wide

to his lefthanded backhand.

She ignores her cap

escaping with the wind

as she executes

a perfect follow through.

She smiles.

Ace! It’s an ace.

Do You Like Spiders?

February 15, 2025February 15, 2025 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 9 Comments

Have a read of my poem ‘Weavers’, first published in Quadrant Magazine. Let me know what you think. ‘Weavers’ is one of the pieces in my second poetry collection ‘Flat White, One Sugar’ (Ginninderra Press).

Weavers:

A well-hidden spider

created patterns

outside my office window

against the wooden frame.

I’d see the new progression

of her magnum opus

from my writing desk.

I’d be weaving plot entanglements

and she’d have shown off

her vision

to fast-moving days

as the year raced to its ending.

In the afternoons I’d be outside

hanging washing

picking up broken branches

watering herbs

and she’d have converted

moths and small flies into

sticky brown blobs.

A kookaburra laughed

from the clothesline.

Daily spider prompts helped drive me,

our compulsions to create on either

side of the glass.

One day the cleaner

sprayed the windows,

splattered and splashed,

with his power-hose.

By noon all surfaces

shone brightly.

Did the spider live?

Did she find a different hideout?

Her masterpiece is imprinted

on my brain:

its scaffolding

beginnings,

endings.

My Poem ‘What Could We Say?’

December 17, 2024 ~ Libby Sommer ~ Leave a comment

Have a read of my poem ‘What Could We Say?’ first published in Quadrant Magazine. It is one of the poems in my latest collection ‘Flat White, One Sugar‘ (Ginninderra Press).

I hope you enjoy it.

What Could We Say?:

Before dawn’s soft lightening,

rain stills itself on flat roofs

in pools of stagnant water.

Each morning we hear

a car speed up the hill

and dark recurring dreams

which tossed and turned

our restless selves, leave us

twisted in the sheets.

Now we start

warming rooms,

opening blinds.

Into the silence,

tight with the unspoken,

our thoughts pokerfaced

– space enough not given or seized –

moments hang,

more half-empty

than half-full.

My Poem, ‘Flat White, One Sugar’

November 15, 2024 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 2 Comments

Have a read of my poem ‘Flat White, One Sugar’ first published in Quadrant Magazine. It is the title poem in my latest collection ‘Flat White, One Sugar‘ (Ginninderra Press).

I hope you enjoy it.

Flat White, One Sugar:

Up above is special to the birds.

A new craft beer is special to schooner-lovers,

who know it will have a unique aftertaste

before they’ve even had a sip.

The beanie warming the newborn

is special to the mum

swaddling her in hospital.

The cough is special, wretchedly, to the throat.

The wish you hold secretly inside yourself

is special to your being.

The gumboots are special to dry feet,

more special than the joggers,

which are special only in the gym.

The video of the runners

is not special to the owner of the phone

but is special to the competitors in the race.

I don’t want to be special to baristas

who ask how was my weekend,

or people bent over hand-held devices,

not special to those who don’t listen

when I answer their questions.

I want to be as special

as a morning coffee addiction,

but in the way a scarf is special,

or warm gloves,

not because they stand out from the crowd,

but because they know

they give comfort to others.

My Poem, ‘Crows Never Forget’

October 22, 2024 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 2 Comments

Have a read of my poem ‘Crows Never Forget’ first published in Quadrant Magazine. ‘Crows Never Forget’ is one of the poems in my recently released collection ‘Flat White, One Sugar‘ (Ginninderra Press).

I hope you enjoy it.

Crows Never Forget:

can we remember like they do

through long rain-drenched months

with their clever chat?

one warns the others a human who scared them

years ago but the crows when the sky cleared

cried out loud and raucous

near the top-floor balcony

trellised with spring buds

crow-speech channelling new connections into

the sides of my head

Poetry Review

October 10, 2024October 10, 2024 ~ Libby Sommer ~ 4 Comments

There is a fabulous extensive review by Sean Wayman in this month’s October Quadrant Magazine of my two recent poetry collections, ‘The Cellist a Bellydancer & Other Distractions’ and ‘Flat White, One Sugar ‘.

For example he writes: “… there are still many poets who resist the temptations of narcissistic self-righteousness. Libby Sommer, a prolific Australian writer of fiction and poetry, eschews the moral posturing of the ideologically pure poet to cultivate an aesthetic that is observant, curious and open to experience.”

“… it is the give-and-take between openness and particularity which give her poems their unique charisma.”

“… “‘Transience’, like many of her most beautiful passages, combines sunlight, water, and open expanses of sky:

A luminous, tangerine, and blazing expanse
burst out to the left of the blue
from the harbour to the city as the western light
lowered itself behind concrete high-rises.”

If you’d like to read the full review, Quadrant Magazine is available in newsagents and online. My books can be ordered from Ginninderra Press or from other online booksellers.

https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au/store.php?catalog/search/Libby+Sommer/date/1

Photos by Jason Painter