Debut

• Chloe Rayfield, Grade 11, Newcastle Grammar School
• Poetry
• 2001

2nd in the 'Believe It Or Not 2001' competition

Fugitive glances traverse the courtyard
In speedy, critical perusal;
A stray from the flock is locked into focus –
He is approached, he is asked, he’s acquired.

From endless lines of spray-and-wiped terrazzo
And armies of assistants paid on commission,
Sprouts the one: floodlit chiffon, organza flanks,
From a glowing, platinum bodice.

Mothers feather, natter, and flutter,
Daughters sample luxuries only women know
And finally, on the Night, fathers see with pride and fear
The future plumed and primed in front of them.

Like false-lashed dancers at audition,
Each girl bosoms her way to flashing lenses.
Inevitably they must distribute goodbyes...
Leaving only stray petals from long-forgotten bouquets.