by Janet Jiahui Wu

Father had a bypass surgery. The arteries to his heart were as congested as his emotional brain. The scar of a big red cross did not add compassion or empathy to his already selfish disposition. In pain, he screamed. Pain-free, he frowned and grumbled. None of his children came to visit. His wife, whom he detested, cooked porridge for him. He refused to eat it. He drove to a restaurant against his doctor’s orders. He ruptured his wound. One day he saw a train of wild boar crossing the road. He thought of his own children, his mother, and wept.

Janet Jiahui Wu is a nonbinary Hong-Kongese-Chinese-Australian visual artist and writer of poetry and fiction. She has published in various literary magazines big or small. She currently lives in South Australia with two sassy fat cats, Puss (in boots) & Pablo (Neruda). She acknowledges that the land on which she stands belongs to the Kaurna people and pays respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.