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- Published 20241105
- ISBN: 978-1-923213-01-2
- Extent: 196 pp
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Though he lives in a rundown unit
above a busy intersection,
the pyjama man
imagines that the sounds of the traffic
are the waves of the ocean.
It is not automobiles
that are passing by his window;
it is the crashing of waves into the shore.
He finds the sound of the ocean therapeutic
and becomes a man of peace.
His friends tell him it is the traffic,
the relentless sound of the traffic,
that has driven him mad,
that has caused this fantasy.
Their negativity
makes him even more determined
to believe the delusion.
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About the author
Damian Balassone
Damian Balassone’s writing has appeared in a variety of Australian and international publications, including The New York Times, The Australian, Light, Abridged, The Spectator,...
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