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Sorry for the Dynamite
Kezia Perry (University of Adelaide, Australia)

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They caught me in the driveway, talked of their requirements.
After all, there was the smell to consider.
After winter, the tourists would come.
I asked about the size.
Added up figures, gave an estimate.
At four I went to the harbour.
The activists sat on their cars,
Talking of sharks and cruelty.
I might have said weight was its moorage,
If I’d felt pushed to. Instead, I unpacked,
Cable and blasting cap,
Weapons packed in an esky.
Waiting for the tide, I walked onto the bank,
Pacing out plans.
As I placed the last bag of sand over its head, the animal shuddered.
Touching the grey brow, I spoke my sorrow at the task.
For after checking the shallows, I killed the whale with dynamite.
Afterwards, it was still, nothing but wind, and sawdust falling onto sand,
Amid tiny specks of red.

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Kezia Perry is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide. Her work has been published in The Australian and she currently reviews for The Big Book Club. She is writing her first novel and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

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