one day you found yourself
rolling along a forest track
sticks snapping
leaves brushing the plastic
and
before you
a wallaby stood
still
it looked you right in the eye
unsettled
you stilled yourself
then rolled on by
to town
where you noticed that
people who passed could see you
through the chipped paint and ripped plastic
a man stopped dead in the street and
reached out
inexplicably
from within your belly
you heard a rumble
and felt an explosive fire
the animal inside you began
to rage and thrash
you woke alone flat on the pavement
looking up at the night sky
the air felt cool and
you understood that your
bubble had been broken
as you lay there raw as new pink skin
somewhere far off but close by
you heard bubbles popping and sat up to
meet fresh folk who began
to ask what happened to you
a rich voice you could hardly believe was yours
told of the wrongness
like it was yesterday
lifetimes of story
pouring from you like tears
when you looked up from your telling
many eyes met yours in recognition
of a truth that had been wrapped in plastic for so long
curled up like a hissing thing
that unwrapped itself and began to sing
you drank in the wind
and let the rising sun warm you
tears soothed the heat that thumped like a drum
in your chest
the ice over your old bones melted
and you saw the world
fully alive at last
Geordie Bull is an emotional wellness coach, journalist and mum of two who lives in Crescent Head, Australia with her family. Find more of her writing at www.geordiebull.com.au.
