I fold my body inside the cave’s throat
tight as a limpet
and wait
for rain—
a desert intertide.
Sandstone hollows out over time
like thirst. Canvas
on my back hardens
into shell, my ear flattens
as foot-tongue—
I can hear [I can hear]
The distant taste of salt.
[ ]
The cattle have drunk.
The generator is almost done
pumping the bore for tomorrow.
Ashley Haywood is a writer, artist and poet with various works published in Australia and overseas. She is in the inaugural recipient of the UQ Fryer Library Creative Writing Fellowship.
