Published in Overland Issue 208 Spring 2012 · Main Posts The Tap Michelle Gaddes (for Anthony) Gently turned the tap; small boy awe and glee. A withered stick man smoking in his bed, Those long hostile fumes he did not foresee. The toddler, an insect, out of his head. Faucets were declaring outrage and war – The bug had left through a hole in the fence. Spume shot out oily all over the floor His little game did not make any sense. Giants followed, roaring, eyes of battle. And gas like sweat waving flags of death brutally crushed living lungs of the day. And scourge of threat on a waft of breath – then there came slap of skin, a red hot sound, the bug lay wingless on wet battleground. Michelle Gaddes Michelle Gaddes lives on the far south NSW coast. She participated in Australian Poetry’s ‘Cafe Poet’ program early 2012. Her poetry compilation, Pariah, is available from Ginninderra Press. More by Michelle Gaddes › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 28 March 202428 March 2024 · Main Posts Why we should value not only lived experience, but also lived expertise Sukhmani Khorana In the wake of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to extend the central idea of El Gibbs’s 2022 essay on 'lived expertise' and argue that in media accounts of racism, analytical expertise and lived experience ought to be valued together and even in the same body. First published in Overland Issue 228 5 March 2024 · Main Posts Andrew Charlton’s school assignment Alex McKinnon Australia's Pivot to India exists for three reasons: so that when Andrew Charlton is interviewed on the radio or introduced on Q+A, his bio includes the phrase "he has written a book about Indian-Australian relations"; to fend off accusations that he is another Kristina Keneally engaging in electoral colonialism in western Sydney; and to help the Albanese government strengthen economic and military ties with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.