Published in Overland Issue 250 Autumn 2023 · Poetry tinnitus as hushing haibun Lesh Karan she existed in masks: lorikeets loudest in the mornings, leaves deliberating on a breezy day, blinds fluttering against the sill, the hum of conversation on the footpath by her window, Fleetwood Mac, her fingers on the keyboard (tippity-tap), her anxious dog’s paws pattering on the floorboards, her husband’s snoring at 3am, the off-and-on whir of the coffee machine, cafes cackling like campfire, firetruck sirens every 43-degree day. maybe silence doesn’t exist she thinks. maybe silence is just a quietening, until feigned decibels reign: radio crackle between channels, a cicada stuck in cochlea’s dusk. her castle in the cortex: an orchestra ringing Bach. no, a conductor signalling silence. * she existed in masks: lorikeets loudest in the mornings, leaves deliberating on a breezy day, blinds fluttering against the sill, the hum of conversation on the footpath by her window, Fleetwood Mac, her fingers on the keyboard (tippity-tap), her anxious dog’s paws pattering on the floorboards, her husband’s snoring at 3am, the off-and-on whir of the coffee machine, cafes cackling like campfire, firetruck sirens every 43-degree day. maybe silence doesn’t exist she thinks. maybe silence is just a quietening, until feigned decibels reign: radio crackle between channels, a cicada stuck in cochlea’s dusk. her castle in the cortex: a daily orchestra ringing Bach. no, a conductor signalling silence. * in the hum of her keyboard sirens every day she crack s the signal Lesh Karan लेश करण / Lesh Karan is a Naarm/Melbourne-based poet and essayist. Recent publications include in Admissions (a Red Room Poetry anthology), Best of Australian Poems 2022, Cordite, Island, Mascara and Rabbit. She was shortlisted for the 2022 Judith Wright Poetry Prize, and is currently completing a Master of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing. More by Lesh Karan › 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 November 20248 November 2024 · Poetry Announcing the final results of the 2024 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers Editorial Team After careful consideration, judges Karen Wyld and Eugenia Flynn have selected first place and two runners-up to form the final results of this year’s Nakata Brophy Prize! 6 November 20246 November 2024 · Poetry TV Times Kate Lilley I try out for Can Can after school / knowing I’m not cut out for the high kicks / Ballads chansons show tunes ok / I can belt out Judy Garland and all the songs from Oliver / “Who Will Buy”/”As Long as He Needs Me” / Wher-e-e-e-ere is love