She thought about not knowing

Through the window, beyond her
sink, she saw a kind of rape on the steps

in the sun. The male dove beat her down,
raised his wings high, beat his seed into her,

pressed her flat. The stab, stab overtook
all sight. One dove lay still on the grass

in the sun. She thought about a post-coital
haze. She thought about helplessness.

She thought about not knowing.

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Susan Fealy is a Melbourne-based poet, reviewer, and clinical psychologist. Her poems have been published widely in journals and anthologies including Best Australian Poems 2009, 2010 and 2013. Her first full-length collection, Flute of Milk, will be published in 2017