The Pearl as Immune Response

by Madeleine Dale

I break the surface of anger 
unexpectedly, like a diver 

prising the bay into halves,
a knife through muscle 

and shell. The oyster reefs
were licking the tide clean,

honeycombed on their racks,
varnishing their little hurts

without philosophy. Helpless
as swell, I have painted 

indifference over injury,
and it has turned 

so heavy. My body lolls
in the estuary, where silt 

meets salt. Broken shuck
catches my skin. I carry

the pearl-weight of love
                       out to sea.

Madeleine Dale grew up on Tamborine Mountain and now lives in Brisbane. She holds first-class honours and a Masters degree in creative writing from the University of Queensland, where she is currently completing a PhD. Her first chapbook, On Fire with Dangerous Cargo, was published by Queensland Poetry in 2023. Her first full length collection, Portraits of Drowning, won the 2023 Thomas Shapcott Prize and is forthcoming from UQP.