Published in Overland Issue Print Issue 198 Autumn 2010 · Writing / Main Posts Disquisition on Home Ryan Scott A fly kindly punctuates the table cloth before moving to remedy the syntax of a wall, a banana, a door knob … my lip. And the sun is more presence than detail. Unlike, say, the dark which remains a tease and knows its place. Light here invades lines. Colour has no room. My hands confuse themselves with the sand but not the trees; too dry to weep, they can only wait. A magpie gargles the air. That bird is the one fear from childhood I keep for comfort. Still, it’s more intelligent than most creatures. Pollsters should ask for its opinion, while grammarians should study where that fly lands, see if it finds words for its pedantic self. You and I would argue over the significance of each position. Sorry, you’d say, ‘You and I’. Maybe, we should take this inside. Ryan Scott Ryan Scott lives in the Czech Republic. His poems have appeared in a number of journals and websites in Australia and overseas. More by Ryan Scott › 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 20 March 20262 April 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize seeks outstanding poetry from new and emerging writers. This year’s judges, Shastra Deo, Harry Reid and […] 20 March 202620 March 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize seeks outstanding original short fiction of up to 3000 words themed loosely around the notion […]