Published in Overland Issue 228 Spring 2017 · Uncategorized Languages I Learned in Hell Audrey Molloy i. gown fitting invitation list deckled edge target weight sheath dress seating plan tussy mussy wishing well VIP ii. nuchal translucency recovery room blighted ovum foetal demise just as well genetic abnormality products of conception try again D&C iii. you look tired eating for two cankles varicose vein breech presentation epidural failure just a little snip instrumental birth OMG iv. crunch ’n’ sip working bee nit comb car pool mufti day plantar wart sight words special needs ADD v. children’s ward A&E white blood cell count parent room coffee machine lumbar puncture PICC line no news yet JRA vi. think tank take offline strategic staircase ASAP open the kimono burning platform drill down synergise FYI vii. matrimonial home date of cohabitation pre-marital assets erosion principle section 75(2)(b) without prejudice family law act $550 per hour plus GST viii. Klippan Lack self-assembly flat-pack Ribba Phillips head allen key Ikea thumb G&T ix. post baby body pelvic floor boot camp engage your core girls’ night out similar interests coffee Martini friends with benefits RSV Read the rest of Overland 228 If you enjoyed this poem, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four outstanding issues for a year Audrey Molloy Audrey Molloy was born in Dublin and grew up in Blackwater, County Wexford. She now lives in Sydney, where she works as a medical writer and editor. Her poetry has recently appeared in Australian Poetry Journal, New Shoots Anthology and Cordite. She was shortlisted for the 2016 Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets. More by Audrey Molloy › 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 April 202629 April 2026 · literary culture “You are here”: a conversation about poetry and politics with Jeanine Leane Lyndall Thomas Jeanine won the 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for her collection of poetry, gawimarra gathering. My conversation with her was recorded on Bunurong Country and in Naarm, in the east Kulin nations. 28 April 202628 April 2026 · History Red Hunter: inspiration from history for an eco-socialist movement Tim Briedis There is an incredible history of worker radicalism in the Hunter Valley region. Workers and communists took on governments, police, banks and bosses, unionised whole industries from scratch, and formed militant Labour Defence Armies of hundreds. While these are not specifically environmentalist actions, there is much to take inspiration from in this history of defiance and rebellion. It is a story of class struggle, collective action and combativeness.
