by Gayathri Kakarparthi
Asleep at the Wheel
Bedtime is a no entry road, an approximation of an approximation. Puddles
echo the absence of rumours. I tap on the door of a forbidden protocol,
waiting like an animal, with prayer clamped in my jaws, my fur hot and wet.
Moonlight is a warning sign, the criss-cross tape of unforeseen events. A fly
taps oil on a rippling pool. A tragedy’s only a tragedy when you know about
it, and I am always oblivious as I cross the threshold between spooks and
strangers, the sky shuddering shyly at the border of insects. Then, sleep is a
crater or an adverse camber, a lapse in concentration, a conversation cut short
by impending bones and their polite snap. And waking? Waking? I walk past
crushed glass, folded metal, spilled petrol, and baby’s breath by the side of
the road. Everything is abandoned and howling. Dogs press delete.
Oz Hardwick is a European poet and academic, whose work has been widely published in international journals and anthologies. He has published “about a dozen” full collections and chapbooks, including Learning to Have Lost (Canberra: IPSI, 2018) which won the 2019 Rubery International Book Award for poetry, and most recently A Census of Preconceptions (Dublin & Reggio di Calabria: SurVision Books, 2022). Oz is Professor of Creative Writing at Leeds Trinity University (UK). www.ozhardwick.co.uk.
Gayathri Kakarparthi is a fine artist and digital illustrator from Chennai, India. Her work is inspired by the beauty of the natural world and the magic in the ordinary. With the belief that art can act as a catalyst for personal growth, she invites viewers to explore their own feelings and emotions through her art. gayathrikakarparthi.com https://www.instagram.com/gayathri_kakarparthi/.