The Man Pattern

December 2025, no. 482

The Man Pattern

December 2025, no. 482

She brings a bag of bundled shades of wool
which overflows beside her corner table
and from it draws a choice of yarn, a range
of needles, lays them out as a surgeon might,
as a thief would, surveying a challenging vault.

Damen O’Brien

Damen O’Brien is a multi-award-winning poet, based in Brisbane. Damen’s prizes include The Moth Poetry Prize, the Peter Porter Poetry Prize, and the Newcastle Poetry Prize. Damen has been published in many journals, including Australian Book Review, New Ohio Review, Mississippi Review, Poetry Wales, Cordite, and Island. His first book of poetry, Animals With Human Voices, is available through Recent Work Press.