Heat (January)

Outside at 5.30 is warmer than inside. Getting on the train’s like stepping into a fridge. It’s impossible not to like palm trees on a hot day. Even the palm trees in Bentleigh. January. People choose not to move. They’ve given up on their screens. Too slippery? First light hits fences hard. But the crepe myrtles are soft as raspberry jam. It’s a great ball of unending fire, reflected in the train window. Though even the sun will come to an end, according to my daughter. The carpark is irritated crows. Southland isn’t Paradise, but at least it’s a fridge.