Published in Overland Issue 223 Winter 2016 · Uncategorized Quads 17–19 Chris Mansell 17 anchor sweet st ay here this sp ot this stop st ay stonestill r esting here thi s place the pla ce placid as da rk this herenes s without shift or single no ju dge shift going or coming shift ing numbers hal t reference sli ng the anchor t o the base snag it and stay her e the rock dang er known and bl isses beat like waves of sudden kisses on the s till stones day after dawn stay still anchor be stopped and her eon be a long b eat the path be aten be battene d here still st one solid balan ced balmed stay 18 or fly not to s top not a hover over tremble wi nged hesitation but move moving on over shift s and unstable sl ide unstop with out stay shambl e on out over a way somewhere n ot here gone ad rift moving not an inch but a k ilometre vastly quick not faste ned to a bolt b ut as lightning lighter than fa aster more smel t than melted l ight sliding of f the face of a once beloved no longer loved mo ve on shove ove r other lover l ight moves on s pills its overn ess wherever no care but not ti l ever over fly 19 square squantum a bit chunked o ff equal and cr isp and even co ol as angle tha t sharp interst itial cornerdom of block standb y cube the coun t one and two m ore exactly one than a circle s aying naught sq uare sits so ev en before its l eft or right th ere is no to te ll this up is o ther this other not perhaps who knows blithe on e this squat no taller than sho rt than wider n o thought all c orners taken in clipped to thei r other poked t o the brim squa re satisfy stou t angle right b ox settle state Read the rest of Overland 223 – If you liked this article, please subscribe or donate. Chris Mansell Chris Mansell is a poet. More about her work can be found at chrismansell.com. More by Chris Mansell › 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 6 February 2025 · open letter Open Letter from Attendees of the National Anti-Racism Symposium at the Queensland University of Technology Delegates to the National Anti-Racism Symposium We urge QUT, politicians and others receiving pressure to not only resist these attacks on the intellectual freedom and academic integrity of the presenters, Carumba Institute and QUT, but, further, to condemn the racist, reactionary and divisive campaign that produced them. Anything less will be a capitulation to the most corrosively anti-intellectual forces in Australian society, which will ultimately harm not only Carumba and QUT, but all of us. 5 February 20255 February 2025 · Art A poetic argument for restitution: Isaac Julien at the MCA Sarah Schmidt Once Again... (Statues Never Die) invites viewers to engage deeply, rewarding those willing to invest time contemplating its layered narratives. Transformative in its complexity, seductive in its visual literacy, it offers a space for empathy, education, and debate, emphasising how museums can serve as platforms for confronting contested histories and inspiring social change.