Cactus

We wear shoes on the beach; this is not a place for bare-feet and romance. We wear shoes right to the shoreline; where the desert meets the Great Southern Ocean and the skyline stretches to Antarctica. We build shade from batik sarongs, hot- pink towels, and tie-dyed mosquito nets; trees don’t grow on these desert plains. We hump one-hundred-and-eighty litres of water like feral camels voyaging over arid landscapes. We eat Peanut Butter on Corn-Thins and Nutella on tablespoons.

-

We are: two surfy chicks, a little white dog, and an old green van. We are: five surfboards, two tents, eight sarongs, two fishing-rods, one hand-reel, one camp-oven, three squid-jigs, and four green-bags full of books. We are cold at night and hot during daylight. We drink rationed water with calculated caution and eat two meals a day.

-

An excerpt from my chapbook Cactus ~ published By Rochford Street Presss, 2016

Stevi-Lee Alver is an Australian writer and tattoo artist. She lives in the middle of Brazil with her wife. She loves bush walks and waterfalls but misses the ocean.