Published in Overland Issue 224 Spring 2016 · Uncategorized Gods of my youth Caitlin Maling At night we leave the colony to go to the ballet: Balanchine, mixed repertoire, Tchaikovsky. It’s American Girl Night and the girls in pigtails and gingham carry dolls in pigtails and gingham, blondes with blondes, brunettes with brunettes. On stage the corps dances the garlands, such unison, such unison, while with poise and grace back in Perth my sister slowly bleeds out the last of what would’ve been a baby and at intermission I text her. On stage the man lifts the woman above his head the girls and the dolls gasp and sigh and I hear my country roar inside me. It’s important to have control. Caitlin Maling Caitlin Maling is a WA poet whose first collection, Conversations I’ve Never Had, was published in 2015. A follow-up collection is due in 2017. More by Caitlin Maling › 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 29 November 2024 · Climate politics Pacific nations can’t afford to be hypocrites on human rights Kavita Naidu In the Pacific, we know that climate change is exacerbating a human rights crisis. Our survival relies on the world following international law to limit the warming that threatens our people and shores. Yet the recent trajectory of Pacific governments picking and choosing which rights to defend and which to ignore is deeply troubling. 27 November 202427 November 2024 · Cartoons So much to tell you: or, piercing plant tissue with needle-like mouth-parts Sofia Sabbagh Looking for things meant I could enjoy the feeling in my body. Something like hope, or friendship.
