BEING KAREN

Eating social media She opens the door with one hand and gives her friend the glass full of wine with the other “Come in, sit down, try to be quiet” “As if!” her friend takes two big gulps, throws her bag onto the only free space on the couch and wanders over to the kitchen. “What are you doing?” “Cooking” “No no. What are you doing? What’s the story? Why aren’t you set up to film” “I’m cooking, see”, the knife is waved vaguely in the air and then returns to the board and the

A memory from Melbourne lockdown surfaced this morning ... I might be Australian, but I am a Melbourne girl. This is my city, she shaped me and we have grown up together. My personal compass has pointed me far from home often. My cardinal points are here, they do not change. Melbourne sleeps now, her thousand eyes are closed. Soon, soon, not soon enough, the shops and galleries, arcades and bookshops, cafes, theatres and market stalls will come back to life. And so will our

Warrior Magic The master pulls his cloak more closely around himself, the room ice cold and drafty, all the windows open to the air year round. He stands quietly as they came in. They rattle and clank, bump into each other in passing, looking around for a seat or a place to lean against the wall. He sighs, and is thankful he only has to do this a few times every year. When their training is done, warriors are granted one small magic. He feels the tension in the room, they all

It was a busy night. Saturday night. There were countless young men who had broken themselves in so many different ways (oh, being a mother never stops being hard.) There were old women who were alone sick, no-one there to hold their hand, it will be okay. And Dad. Dad who was having a moment, and it was making us a have a moment, and it was causing the nurses and interns to have a more than a moment. But they just couldn’t get it to work, they could not do what needed to be