Sometimes I forget how to speak
and have to shake words out
like salt

I am used to being alone 

When I am walking
early in the morning
or after rain
and I accidentally step on the snails—
their tiny shells cracking unfairly 
underneath my feet. I always apologize 

My French neighbour says he can sometimes hear me laughing
outside his window 
and that it makes him smile—
I think about it for days
hold it in my mouth like cotton candy

I am slowly dissolving 

How could someone name me 
and something so light
in the same breath.

Belinda Maddern is a 37 year old writer/photographer living in Australia.