Turnings | Rohan Buettel
They sleep entwined in the long drape of night.
One turning to one side, settling awhile,
then rolling back to the other. The other matches
the movement, turning in turn, nestling
back close together like silver cutlery
in a velvet-lined case. When one lies
on their back, the other passes a leg over,
settles again, one body half-resting across
the other. And so they pass the night,
comfortably sleeping together, not waking
despite all the turnings.


Rohan Buettel lives in Canberra, Australia. His haiku appear in various Australian and international journals (including Presence, Cattails and The Heron’s Nest). His longer poetry recently appears in The Elevation Review, Rappahannock Review, Penumbra Literary and Art Journal, Mortal Magazine, Passengers Journal, Reed Magazine, Meniscus and Quadrant. He convenes Tram Stop Poets, a poetry workshop group in Canberra and rides a mountain bike, paddles a kayak and sings in a choir.