The Scream, by Edvard Munch, oil tempera and pastel on cardboard, 91 x 73 cm, 1893. National Gallery of Norway. [Wikimedia Commons.]
Essay in Loneliness
You’re teaching at the regional campus
of a small university;
single, new to all your colleagues.
They’re friendly enough, but never
invite you ‘round for tea.
You stay at cheap motels, pubs,
drink too much in the evening.
(There’s nothing else to do.)
Listen to the racing station
as you go to sleep.
In time, the calf
of your right leg
feels very sore,
as if the muscle
has torn from the bone.
You’re diagnosed
with an aneurysm
behind your right knee.
You survive the big operation
to remove the obstruction.
Then you get to now.
You have a similar job,
in another similar place.
(Acknowledgement: first appeared in my sixth poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, Ginninderra Press, 2026.)
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises is available HERE
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
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