Sophie Finlay

drought glides with breaths of dust

burst of plume

roping

tip

fires are given names, converge in rivers —

Ruined Castle joins with Green Wattle Creek 

other fires spin into thin tornadoes, emitting fuel like pulsars

forests break in cellulose, cinders rain

and lap the shores

the waves are black, we are breathing this in

radiant wounds

screech

long-nosed

long-footed

spot-tail

large-eared

glossy black

log runner

pouched

spiny

ground and bristle

posed ash-stiff in      alizarin

supplement feed the galaxias, the alpine fauna, the swamp skinks

seed-bank mint bush and bottle brushes

tolerance unknown

Sophie Finlay is a visual artist and poet from Melbourne. Her poetry is published in multiple journals including Meanjin, Australian Poetry Journal, Cordite Poetry Review, Plumwood Mountain journal and Shaping the Fractured Self, UWAP. She has been a finalist in several art prizes including the prestigious John Leslie Art Prize.