By Ellen Shelley

On an ordinary day

the water stills

the air waves fall silent

birds on parachute wings

spiral to gorund

a riff strums

spilt like coffee

balloons fall

as air between seasons

the new age has begun

a stampede of growth

a cloud of noise pollution

our young float like bubbles

hollow from expectation

falling like trees

the sound of rejection

breeds on our shores

another boat sinks

while we look the other way.

Artwork by Jackie Benney. Published with permission of the artist.