When was the last time you dreamed in any colour other than gold? You wish there was a dial or perhaps a valve that you could use to drain the world of that particular metallic hue. Maybe then, the world would return to the way it was before. You find the memories from the time […]
The Quarry Journal
A journal of creative writing by students at Macquarie University
Breathe, Christine Zielinski
Breathe the earthmoss soft on barkradiant.Breathe the waterrunning fastover rocksmoothed to sand.The tang of saltlingeringon your tongue,on your skin,as it bakes brownbeside the waves. Download PDF
The End as We Thought It, Briana Symons
My name is Bri. I’ve been sitting at my desk, looking at a blank page for ten minutes as I listen to my neighbour struggle to pull out of the driveway. Every scrape of tyre against pebble resonates in my chest. My neighbour always takes ages to get out of the driveway, but it feels […]
Helios and Luna, Harry Trethowan
The screech of the apartment complex’s 6:00 AM siren pierced through concrete walls. It signalled to the room’s singular resident he was permitted to wake. The steel door constraining the man inside the room clunked as magnetic bolts slid back into its frame. It was an empty gesture on behalf of the Government in control […]
The Showman, Scott Monk
Applause and confetti rained down on the Showman. Thousands and thousands of fans rose to their feet and stood, spellbound, for another five minutes, as he walked to each corner of the stage serving out kisses. Camera phones pop-pop-popped, each reflecting blue light and freezing their owner’s whimsical faces, double chins and yawns. Fathers ushered […]
Hikikomori, Alice Maher
Hikikomori was awarded 1st place in The Quarry – Future Leaders Creative Writing Prize 2020 HaibunThe title Hikikomori refers to a Japanese social phenomenon whereby adolescents (and some adults) withdraw from the outside world to seek extreme isolation and self-confinement.A Haibun is a Japanese form combining short prose with poetry; in this case, a haiku. […]
A Bed Of Roses, Isabella Ross
A Bed of Roses was awarded 3rd place in The Quarry – Future Leaders Creative Writing Prize 2020 Nestled among the flowering hedges within the grounds of a Sydney cemetery, is baby Primrose. She rests underneath a canopy of white roses, a ceramic mushroom house and a fairy figurine placed next to her grave. The […]
salt of the earth, Mykayla Castle
i. i look, and i cannot see the mountains.i drive by an unfamiliar patch of world,the bridge of a song i know by heartand cannot find the hawkesbury under it.the sky is a shrivelling orange rind,white smoke like mould— wherefrom comes my help? Here, it is coming in a distant squall of rain.it opens old […]
Luggage, Ann-Maree Irvine
There’s the bag by her side Tan leather,Two straps,The simplest design she could find.Bursting at the seamsWith miscellaneous papers and files,The importance of which is duly debatable.Though her determined gripWould have you believe they hold the meaning ofLife. I suppose for herThey do.They represent theConstant refrain she strives to attain.Through theForty hour weeksSchool lunches andSleepless […]
Wonder Boy, James Melham
Tom waited impatiently at the metal doors for the countdown to reach zero. The lights had all been turned down in anticipation, as if for fireworks, or for a comet to pass, and the numbers above the doors glowed red. From here, Tom and his roommate had listened to the riots on the streets below. […]