Autumn Swim

Sight doubly dimmed
I pull along the
glowing green lanes
in twilight and
darkened goggles

Every second breath
gives me orange streetlights
through the casuarinas

Backstroke.
An orange light pulses
on the underside of a plane
like the plane’s slow heart
or a diagram of where
the heart should be
passing

ξ

"Autumn Swim" was first published in Block 8, a now-defunct literary journal.

Merri Andrew writes poetry and short fiction, some of which is published in Strange Horizons, Five On The Fifth, Cordite, and Baby Teeth. She lives on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country in Canberra, Australia, where she also works in health promotion, bakes sweet things, and coaches junior soccer. Merri can be found on Twitter @MerriAndrewHere

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