Southern Cross University Showcase

A showcase of SCU student work, compiled by Dr Emma Doolan

the ocean creek

Kim Blake

icy air, clearing skies deafening bird song cacophony, salt sits thick on licked lips

running down the creek path, grass slashes ankles while eyes are on the lookout for sunbaking king browns

high mounds of sandbanks laze as floating fish kill bellies that shimmer in the dazzle

of morning sun, metallic blue solider crab armies drift like smoke across

deserts of rippled sand, skirting bunker holes of stingray hideouts, tide chasing a restless

target, miniscule bait fish spearheading salt water moving as oil, infiltrating mangrove

spikes, sand oysters breathe salty brine, pelicans cruise in hunting pairs far apart camouflaging like they don’t care,

the creek harbinger of life and death in glass water and crystal air

Kim Blake has lived in the Northern Rivers for twelve years, raising her youngest daughter and renovating her house with her husband. She is in her final year of studying the Associate Degree in Creative Writing through SCU. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of New England, and is a teacher.