Published in Overland Issue The Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize Uncategorized Highly recommended: Missing home Kristine Ellis Far from her country, her home. Missing the smell of the gum tree. The sound of the cattle truck and the distinct cow smell That lingers long after it passes through town. None of her mob here in the tropics. Mary’s slight frame is changing, She is belly up, too swollen to leave. Even if Mary wanted to. Frank is fifteen years older. He likes his woman to know her place. Mary’s fierce craving for love Allow her to forget Frank’s beatings. They make their home in the tropics, close to many Ilan people. Frank feels at ease with his mob and his woman Smoking and charging on. Mary and Frank sleep in his beat up Holden Unable to rent them a house Mary didn’t really mind. She could be alone and enjoy time away From the biggest mob and Many jarjums eager for her attention. Sissy Anna is always watching. She knows Frank beats Mary. Mary is too big now and slow. Struggling with the heat. Not wanting to sleep in the Holden. Unable to hide her lonely face and tired eyes. Sissy Anna reaches out. Her invite for Mary and bub to live with her Leaves Mary so grateful. The first months of Mary’s new bub are a happy time. Frank finds joy in this new baby. Sissy Anna is happy too for her friend. But Frank’s demons erupt again. Soon Mary fiercely craves The smell of the gum tree and Longs to hear the sound of The cattle truck drive through town. Image: ‘Imperial ashtray’ / flickr Kristine Ellis Kristine Ellis is connected to the Wakka Wakka people and to Kiriri (Hammond Island, Torres Strait). She currently works in Indigenous education and has a keen desire to create and express herself through writing. She enjoys being with family and friends, as well as theatre, festivals and food. More by Kristine Ellis 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 First published in Overland Issue 228 24 March 202324 March 2023 War Conga line to Armageddon: the rush to get us into a war with China Ben Brooker It shouldn’t need spelling out that Australia could not win a war with China in any sense that matters, even with the backing of the US and its allies. At best, such a victory would be a Pyrrhic one. At worst, we would be so utterly humiliated as to not even know what kind of defeat had been inflicted upon us. First published in Overland Issue 228 23 March 2023 Trans rights Why gender essentialism is a white supremacist ideology Maddison Stoff The idea that these neo-Nazis are just ‘cosplayers’, rather than the local version of an international and decades-long attempt by numerous lone wolves and paramilitary groups to seize control of multiple countries, is too dangerous to seriously contemplate. The better question might be: why do so many anti-trans rights activists, who often see themselves as left-wing or self-describe as feminists, tolerate or downplay the presence of Nazis in their circles? And, just as importantly, why do neo-Nazis show up to support them?
