Battle of the skies

Photo of a row of airplanes on the tarmac, as seen through the window of another plane.

Little planes prepare
to face up to Ouranos;
airborne infantry.

Fallen

photo of a tree on the left of the screen and a layer of yellow leaves fallen on the ground

‘Tis the fall season,
a layer of ground cover:
leaves here; humans there.

Woke

Itโ€™s 8:58 pm on Saturday, and I lie waiting in bed. Sleep doesnโ€™t come easy these days.

Stars twinkle outside my window, and my doona weighs down on my sore legs, comforting.

Is my posture right, I wonder adjusting my body, lengthening my spine and giving myself more contact with my cushion mattress. Did I drink enough water today? I doubt my dedication to myself and consider a New Yearโ€™s resolution, as the pounding in my head continues. 

I sigh deeply, mutely cursing those loose hinges on my garage gate, squeaking in the spring night breeze.

โ€œIsrael strikes again,โ€ the watchful media editor push-notifies me. 

Still wide awake, I clear the notification and open Instagram. โ€œI love that word! Thatโ€™s what Iโ€™m going to name my next boat: ‘Eminence’,โ€ some rich guy beams.


I think I’ll start writing short stories on this blog again. Thoughts?

Decay

Photo of an artwork by Shamsia Hassani. Art shows an Afghan woman holding a bunch of dandelions behind her back while a war tank rolls on in front of her.
Art by Shamsia Hassani, an Afghan graffiti artist. Artwork commission for OzAsia festival in Adelaide, 2022

Shelling left and right,
corroded metallic smokeโ€”
my flowers wither.

โ€”

See more of Hassan’s work on her Instagram profile.

Outdoors

photo of the setting sun shining on the top of a pine tree

Bit of pine sighting
as the world’s busy fighting
half-hearted sunshine