Published in Overland Issue 252 Spring 2023 · Poetry Balloch Eileen Chong In the evening we walk past the ruined castle towards the loch. The sun is setting behind us. There is a walled garden full of rose bushes without a single bloom. It’s too late in the season. I read about the receding waters of Lake Mead, and how the remains of bodies began to surface. Did they fall? Jump? Were they thrown? Sunk? When I first learned how to swim, my brother would dive underwater and close a hand around my ankle. My panicked kicking did the rest. If a ghost catches you, they will take your body. You’ll trade places. If I’m not careful, I’ll remember what it feels like to float, unanchored. We stand by the bank as the light fails, as the swans turn to grey, then black. Eileen Chong Eileen Chong is an Australian poet. She is the author of nine books. We Speak of Flowers is forthcoming from UQP in 2025. Website: www.eileenchong.com.au More by Eileen Chong › 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 21 June 202422 June 2024 · Poetry Night thoughts Ken Bolton A painting I used to like a lot once & thought about / I haven’t thought about / for some time. It showed / Walter Benjamin at a table in Paris. / The artist’s name I can’t recall. Not Patrick. Not Paul? 31 May 202431 May 2024 · Poetry spontaneous unblocking of angels at drains Claire Gaskin pacific gulls carry tightly closed shells to a height then drop them to the rocks below I say I don’t not mind isolation I am introverted