Published in Overland Issue Print Issue 198 Autumn 2010 Main Posts / Writing Differential Threshold Anna Ryan-Punch The ‘differential threshold’ is the smallest change in sensory stimulation that a person can detect. When you left the room it was barely sensory: a bee’s wing dropped from fingernail height. You were drunk, walked cautiously. To keep the room in place your fingers brushed the backs of chairs. When I followed you it was almost invisible: a candle sunk miles into dusk. The landscape almost unchanged. Wine seethed in my throat I did not touch the furniture. The party swallowed on; distracted. We went unheeded, like sugar stirred through too much water. You were quiet, dissolved among the bedded coats. When I found and kissed you we were almost unnoticeable, skirting the threshold. Anna Ryan-Punch Anna Ryan-Punch is a Melbourne poet and critic. Her previous publications include Westerly, Antipodes, Island, Overland, Southerly, and the new anthology Prayers of a Secular World. More by Anna Ryan-Punch 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 11 November 202211 November 2022 Main Posts On the last day of Subscriberthon, our amazing online editor gives you one last (very good) reason to subscribe Editorial team What's in store for the last day of Subscriberthon? First published in Overland Issue 228 10 November 202210 November 2022 Main Posts On the second-last day of Subscriberthon, our favourite editor-duo give you reason #1002 to subscribe to Overland Editorial team What's in store for the second-last day of Subscriberthon?