Bio
Melbourne poet, Jennifer Chrystie has published her work in The Weekend Australian, Blue Dog, Cordite and The Quadrant Book of Poetry 2001-2010 amongst others. Her first book of poetry, "Polishing the Silver", was published in 2006 by Ginninderra Press and commended in the Fellowship of Australian Writers Anne Elder Award.
Jennifer Chrystie
A Very Short Story
After Ernest Hemingway
On the roof one hot evening in Padua
he looked out over the top of the town
the baking terra cotta
Chimney swifts darted and circled
in the searchlights
Luz was cool and fresh
Later, preparing for his operation
she held him as tightly as he held himself
Anaesthetic crept along his veins
Before he returned to the front they prayed
in the dim and quiet of the Duomo
for the time to prepare for marriage
Luz wrote letters he never received
until after the armistice, saying how much
she missed him especially at night