by Rosalind McFarlane

John Durban and Robert Pitman’s research shows orcas travel to warm waters in order to shed their skin, a process which would kill them if performed in the cold waters of their normal habitat.

Will we have the strength to foreshadow
these cloying memories?
Deep cold salt undertow,
we're building
separate waterproof futures.
Foundations only look back
but Eurydice is here, darling.
Vowels can brush without eyes
and I want to lead you
north with the orcas and we can
shed everyday scales:
begin anew in shared skin
with carelessly scattered breath.

About the author

Rosalind McFarlane is currently a doctoral candidate with Monash University, having completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Western Australia.

She has a deep interest in water and depictions of place, leading to her current study of fluidity in Asian-Australian poetry. She has been a part of several publications, most notably Verge, Colloquy, Cordite, Pelican Student Newspaper and dotdotdash.

Works published on Trove:

1. Aurora Australia - Volume 4, Issue 2
2. Speak the Sea - Volume 4, Issue 2
3. Watermelon Rising - Volume 4, Issue 2