Paul Cannon

I love the quiet place
where the trees meet
the water and where
the stars are welcomed
as friends who speak
in a silence felt
marrow deep
as they search
my dark corners,
lessening the dull
concerns of days lost
of light and take me
once again colouring
outside the lines of
the narrow,
and out, out, beyond
to the potent throb
of life that lives in the
veins of my freedom.

Paul Cannon is a poet who contemplates the mysteries of life in all its wonder and his experiences of the journey. Paul lives with his wife Lyn in the south-west corner of Australia where two oceans meet, a place that inspires life and writing.

This poem appeared in What We Hold On To: Poems of Coping, Connection, and Carrying On — Winter 2026, published by The Chaos Section Poetry Project. We’ll be featuring each poem from the collection individually in the weeks ahead. You can read the full collection or download a free PDF of the chapbook here.