Isobel Hodges – A Poem

Quiet Escape

Bamboo handles
of dollar store paintbrushes
flake and peel,
shed plastic shells.

Crunch.

Gaudy neon casings
speck timber boards.

Worn bristles scoop
too much Copper Haze.

Watch as paint conquers
and creeps
across canvas.

Slide and slither.

Microscopic villagers
devoured
by a molten surge.

Coarse hairs escape
and embed.

Sturdy saplings
in Teal.

A fingernail marks

The Slippery Hair Chase.

Frosty Lime,
and Rosewood
stain a wrist,
an elbow,
undetected.

The Skin Register
chronicles momentary respite
from Mania’s frantic pace,
her incessant
unquiet.

Float fingertips
to braille,
skim rippled surface.

Drips
congealed mid-journey,
and clots
yet to harden.

Discern slivers of calm
entombed.

The enemy of paint is air.

Rusted tins
½ and ¾ full,
hard rubbish leftovers
or thoughtful gifts.

Torn labels,
decades old.

Stockpiled –
a precious caché
of calm-me-downs.

—
© Isobel Hodges

Applying excess paint to brush encourages it to drip and flow depending on the viscosity of the paint. Lumpy, uneven textures are formed through layers of colour, inviting touch. Colour and line, and easily read outline drawings. Time invested in creativity provides a productive, affordable, legal focus for those inexorable periods when energy surplus threatens havoc. A quiet escape. Currently studying BA Creative Writing University of Melbourne. Bachelor of Arts (Visual Art) QUT