Nana Ollerenshaw

Lorraine

Here, truth counts.
Sight measures the lonely course
from where she's come:
bones and hollows, sallow skin,
the ribcage of a bird.
Her mind, however, keeps its hold
guiding fragile friends
with more than manners.
She shares their shocked surprise,
the haste with which she's changed.
We meet now in the bedroom.
She seeks the closeness of another body
prolonging warmth against such solid flesh
but watches with precision
the drama of her transformation,
an accountant keeping track
of all that she has loved
in columns,
counting down.

CP

Nana Ollerenshaw grew up in Connecticut, married an Australian, and moved to Australia in 1965. She changed from school teaching to nursing in 1988, and currently lives in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.