The resemblance

another existential morning
and I’m having a coffee
peering through the blinds
at the chittering sparrows
surveying the camellia bush
at the centre of my lawn
which the gardener has shaped
into a giant ball
dotted with blooms
pink buds quivering
like sea-anemone
in the mild April breeze

then it strikes me
in a sudden tube light moment
that the bush with its polyp flowers
looks shockingly like the demon
dominating the news—
the novel Coronavirus
as it sits like a prank installation
that someone quietly rolled
onto the grass overnight
and I quickly click a photo
to share a laugh with friends
The goddamn virus is on my lawn!
#staythehellhome #canyoubelievethis

poor camellia bush
little does it know
of its unfortunate resemblance
to a dreaded menace
and closing the blinds, I chuckle
thinking of that poet
from my writing group
all those years ago
who for some odd reason
would glare daggers at me
every time our eyes locked
and I wondered for the longest time
about his instinctive dislike
his intense venom for me
till someone kindly whispered
that I was the spitting image
of his cheating ex from hell.

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad is an Australian artist, poet, and pianist of Indian heritage. She holds a Masters in English and is a member of Sydney’s North Shore Poetry Project, and Authora Australis. Her poem, “Mizpah”, was awarded an honorable mention in The Glass House Poetry Awards 2020. Her recent works have been published in River and South Review, The Pangolin Review, and Poetica Review, and are forthcoming in Unlost Journal, Ethel Zine, Black Bough Poetry, and elsewhere. She regularly performs her poetry and exhibits her art at shows in Sydney.