Published in Overland Issue 205 Summer 2011 · Uncategorized sad Stuart Barnes The venetians creak – fog’s tonnage. Condensation gasps on glassy corners, gloomy Xmas dec. The butter’s thickened in its crock like dripping. A constellation of barbed starfish rises from the mug of tea toward the ceiling shooting watery cannonballs intermittently as Hippolytus de Marsiliis’ fingers. The iMac, too, is punctuated, each poorly catalogued knuckle eroded like an Apostle by my salt. Only I, oddly overlooked, am hardhearted to this seasonal affective disorder. Stuart Barnes’ poetry has been exhibited, anthologised and published in journals, newspapers and online. He’s currently editing two chapbooks, and writing his first novel. He lives in Melbourne. © Stuart Barnes Overland 205-summer 2011, p. 75 Like this piece? Subscribe! Stuart Barnes Stuart Barnes is the author of Glasshouses (UQP 2016), which won the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, was commended for the Anne Elder Award and shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award. Twitter/Instagram: @StuartABarnes More by Stuart Barnes › 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 8 May 202611 May 2026 · Nakata Brophy Prize The 2026 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers (Poetry) Editorial Team Please follow this link to enter the prize. Sponsored by Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and supporters, the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, established in 2014 […] 7 May 20267 May 2026 · Gaming Weaponised play: are loot boxes pokies for kids? Tom Gurn In the last decade, chance mechanics have been increasingly exploited by the video game industry to attract players, including very young ones. And while the federal government is clearly aware of the risks, it really isn’t clear what the right step forward is.