For a brief moment
the illusion of life
the wind is a wild puppeteer-
pulling, weighing,
coaxing a last flight
into the air.
I cannot leave you here to the jaws
of the sugar ants
to the feet of those
who scarcely look down
at the fallen treasures
they may trample on.
I will hold
your smudged paper lightness
your last outlines in ink
before returning you
to the dampness
of the patient earth.
Sow your chitin-
hungry winds eat you
scale by scale.
Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad is an Indian-Australian artist, poet, and improv pianist. She lives and works on traditional Gammeragal land. Find her @oormilaprahlad and on Instagram @oormila_paintings.