Abscission layer

I move around the city 

on trams and trains

on buses and on foot

Sometimes I have done this with pleasure

Today I feel a layer of cells that hardens

behind my eyes

in my ears 

in my nose

around my mouth 

and along the lines of my skin

The cells that will ready me

to drop away from the city

like a dried leaf or a blown blossom

preparing me to leave this place

I used to love

and I now find noisy

and annoying

Sydney, March 2026