OCCASUS
  • Home
  • Thesis Day 2020
    • Erin Anderson
    • Chantelle Ing
    • Olivia Smit
    • Shauna Valchuk
  • Archives
    • Boomerang >
      • The Art >
        • Alisha Ansems "Tangled Memories"
        • Lindsay Athoe "Study I" and "Study II"
        • Melissa Bareham "Suspension"
        • Ronnie Clarke "It Is Hard to Say"
        • Nick Cote "City Parks"
        • Liam Creed "Untitled"
        • Gwen Hovey "Jelly"
        • Marissa Martin "Childhood Wonder"
        • Alexa McKinnon "The Feminine Uncanny"
        • Amy Ngo "Untitled"
        • Jill Smith "Shelf Self String Thing" and "things a, b and c"
        • Rebecca Sun "Untitled 1" and "Untitled 2"
        • Gabriele Tyson (Andrew Fraser) "Strong Strides"
        • Val Vallejo "Digital Scaring"
        • Kewen Yan "Time Traveller"
      • The Art/The Poems >
        • Marissa Martin/Mary McDonald
        • Amy Ngo/Jill O'Craven
        • Rebecca Sun/Mary McDonald
        • Gabriele Tyson (Andrew Fraser)/Hashini Puwakgolle Mudiyanselage
        • Val Vallejo/Elizabeth Sak
        • Kewen Yan/Megan Gerret
      • The Poems >
        • Megan Gerrett "Traveller"
        • Mary McDonald "Beyond"
        • Mary McDonald "Blink Back"
        • Hashini Puwakgolle Mudiyanselage "Silent Battles"
        • Jill O'Craven "She is an Ocean"
        • Elizabeth Sak "Stalemate"
    • Issue 1
    • Issue 2
    • Issue 3 >
      • Judges: Issue 3
      • Contributors: Issue 3
    • Issue 4 >
      • Judges: Issue 4
      • Contributors: Issue 4
      • Poetry: Krista Bell
      • Poetry: Josh Garrett
      • Poetry: Erica McKeen
      • Poetry: Katharine O'Reilly
      • Poetry: Victoria Wiebe
      • Poetry: Eric Zadrozny
      • Creative Nonfiction: Ryan Bates
      • Creative Nonfiction: Devin Golets
      • Creative Nonfiction: Jonas Trottier
      • Experimental Writing, Film Sound: Rachel Ganzewinkel
      • Creative Nonfiction: Victoria Wiebe
      • Fiction: Raquel Farrington
      • Fiction: Yulia Lobacheva
      • Fiction: Alexander Martin
      • Fiction: Tiffany Shepherd
      • Fiction: Jonas Trottier
      • On the Night Before Your Father's Funeral, By Katharine O'Reilly
      • Market Blooms By Robyn Obermeyer
      • All That Glitters By Julia Cutt
      • Mosaic By Evan Pebesma
      • love song 2 By Joy Zhiqian Xian
      • Student Writer in Residence: Steve Slowka
    • Issue 5 >
      • Judges: Issue 5
      • Contributors: Issue 5
      • Poetry: Rayna Abernethy
      • Poetry: Chelsea Brimstin
      • Poetry: Natalie Franke
      • Poetry: Kevin Heslop
      • Poetry: Katarina Huellemann
      • Poetry: Cara Leung
      • Poetry: Tamara Spencer
      • Poetry: Travis Welowsky
      • Poetry: Victoria Wiebe
      • Creative Nonfiction: Lyndsay Fearnall
      • Creative Nonfiction: Gary Jackson
      • Fiction: Patricia Arhinson
      • Fiction: Lyndsay Fearnall
      • Fiction: Levi Hord
      • Fiction: Richard Joseph
      • Fiction: Erica McKeen
      • Experimental Writing: Laura McKinstry
      • Experimental Writing: Brittany Renaud
      • Short Film: Ethan Radomski
      • ALFRED R. POYNT AWARD IN POETRY >
        • Poynt Award: Emma Croll-Baehre
        • Poynt Award: Robyn Obermeyer
        • Poynt Award: David Witmer
    • Issue 6 >
      • Judges: Issue 6
      • Contributors: Issue 6
      • Ficton: Sam Boer
      • Ficton: Sydney Brooman
      • Ficton: Erica McKeen
      • Ficton: Esther Van Galen
      • Creative Nonficton: Erica McKeen
      • Creative Nonficton: Brittany Tilstra
      • Creative Nonficton: Nathan Wright-Edwards
      • Poetry: Miriam Ahmed-Gawel
      • Poetry: Chelsea Brimstin
      • Poetry: Rachael Hofford
      • Poetry: Elana Katz
      • Poetry: Erica McKeen
      • Poetry: R. A. Robinson
      • Poetry: Elizabeth Sak
      • Experimental Writing: Sydney Brooman
      • Experimental Writing: Erica McKeen
      • Experimental Writing: Brittany Renaud
      • Experimental Writing: Brittany Renaud
      • Short Film: Dejvi Dashi
      • Short Film: Matthew Carr
    • Issue 7 >
      • Contributors: Issue 7
      • Judges: Issue 7
      • Poetry: Michelle Baleka
      • Poetry: Jenny Berkel
      • Poetry: Kevin Heslop
      • Poetry: Katarina Huellemann
      • Poetry: Nathan Little
      • Poetry: Erica McKeen
      • Poetry: Kaela Morin
      • Poetry: Elizabeth Sak
      • Poetry: Kate Zahnow
      • Experimental Writing and Film: Erica McKeen
      • Experimental Writing and Film: Shauna Ruby Valchuk
      • Fiction: James Gagnon
      • Fiction: Megan Levine
      • Fiction: Erica McKeen
      • Fiction: Cassia Pelton
      • Fiction: Julia Rooth
      • Creative NonFiction: Noa Rapaport
      • Screenplays: Sydney Brooman
      • Screenplays: Nathan Wright-Edwards
    • Issue 8 >
      • Judges: Issue 8
      • Contributors: Issue 8
      • Poetry 8: Danielle Bryl-Dam
      • Poetry 8: Leah Kuiack
      • Poetry 8: Jameson Lawson
      • Poetry 8: Maxwell Lucas
      • Poetry 8: Kaela Morin
      • Poetry 8: Joanna Shepherd
      • Fiction 8: Mason Frankel
      • Fiction 8: Rylee Loucks
      • Fiction 8: Celia Kate Shapcott
      • Fiction 8: Amy Wang
      • Fiction 8: Blake Zigrossi
      • Screenplays 8: Naomi Barghel
      • Screenplays 8: Amanda Inglese
      • Screenplays 8: Jeff Simpson
      • Creative Nonfiction 8: Tiffany Austin
      • Creative Nonfiction 8: Jenny Berkel
      • Creative Nonfiction 8: Carolina Jung
      • Creative Nonfiction 8: Leah Kuiack
      • Creative Nonfiction 8: Li-elle Rapaport
      • Creative Nonfiction 8: Amy Wang
      • Experimental 8: Lauren Lee
      • Experimental 8: Kirah Ougniwi
      • Experimental 8: Carlie Thompson-Bockus
      • Plays 8: Camille Inston
  • Issue 9
    • Contributors: Issue 9
    • Fiction 9: Chris Chang
    • Fiction 9: Tegan Wilder
    • Fiction 9: Hyacinth Zia
    • Creastive Nonfiction 9: Aidan Gugula
    • Poetry 9: Rachel Fawcett
    • Poetry 9: Matthew Simic
    • Experimental Writing 9: Shauna Ruby Valchuk
    • Screenplays 9: Naomi Barghiel
    • Screenplays 9: Alicia Johnson
    • Screenplays 9: Keaton Olsen
    • Screenplays 9: Rachel Yan
  • Issue 10
    • Contributors: Issue 10
    • Experimental Writing 10: Akshi Chadha
    • Experimental Writing 10: Adelphi Eden
    • Experimental Writing 10: Nicole Feutl
    • Experimental Writing 10: Isabella Kennedy
    • Experimental Writing 10: Christopher Paul
    • Poetry 10: Meaghan Furlano
    • Poetry 10: Li-elle Rapaport
    • Fiction 10: Meaghan Furlano
    • Fiction 10: Carly Pews
    • Creative Noniction 10: Nicole Feutl
    • Creative Noniction 10: Courtney WZ
    • Screenplay 10: Margaret Huntley
  • Submissions
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Writing Studies at Western
    • Contact
  • Writing Studies
September 14, 2015 | Occasus | Issue 5 | Fiction

Counting

There are six television sets
In our house, three
Are doused with dust,
The other half
Deafens wails from our dog, Jimbo.

Christmas morning is the television:
Full blast fifty-inch flat screen
Airing a Frosty the Snowman re-run
My father’s face blank, fat,
Staring at the peach painted walls.

Mother turns the television
Down to volume ten
Instead of fifty-five
Asking if we should open gifts,
Answered by closed mouths.

Silence, except for four
Cellphone keyboards typing
And father grunting swear words
Seventeen steps from our
Eight foot Christmas tree.

I count sixty-six gifts
Wrapped in gold and purple
With bows the size of skulls
Sixty-six delayed thanks,
Five glares at Jimbo’s black eyes.

Outside, the snow fell frantically
A traffic jam of white
My brother and I exhale
Breath like smoke,
Fingers like popsicles.

We built a snowman with three arms
And called him “Alfred”
Laughing ‘til snot reached our mouths
Til’ mother called us inside,
Our lips chapped and flaking skin.

Father sipped his scotch
His hand on my knee,

And told my brother to shut up.

KATARINA HUELLEMANN is in third year at Western pursuing a major in Psychology and a minor in Creative Writing.

Western University
Department of English and Writing Studies
© Copyright 2020 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Picture