34-37 Degrees South - 2023
This anthology from the South Coast Writers Centre presents fresh country poetry from emerging and award-winning local writers.
This anthology from the South Coast Writers Centre presents fresh country poetry from emerging and award-winning local writers.
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Memento mori with swallowtail butterflies<br />
Erin Shiel<br />
Swallowtails enter the open door and fly<br />
out the window unaware of any walls<br />
or roof. One day they will reclaim it all<br />
and trees will grow through<br />
the floor, their branches prodding the timber<br />
boards until they jemmy the cracks. The rain will teem<br />
through the roof sending shards of terracotta tiles back<br />
to the earth. The swallowtails will polish my bones and shine<br />
my skull as their wings brush through one eye socket and out<br />
of the other. Contented with the quietened world they will<br />
lay eggs in the crevices. From the remnants of my desk<br />
their spindly legs will scatter my dormant words.<br />
Down to the floor of the forest to rot<br />
with the humus and improve<br />
the tilth of the soil.<br />
42
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