re uptake
greenwater swirl down
pastel drags across paper
manifested love
love infested man
photo shoot today
kids chatter chatter
bus changes gear in the distance
hash totalled
singersong
drive bridge accelerate
listen to islands of the dead
let me take you to firefestival
smoke and ash
laughter in the air
sweet laughter
hereafter
everafter
in the islands of the dead
thoughts flick on n off
the paintings…still out there
elli n minna in high school
eve n aurora in primary
scarlet kilbey sleeps and dreams
shes in greece at a gathering of the worshippers of apollo
go woofle go
shes a mythchild
her eyes are aegean blue
in her dreams she dances with fauns
she sings utterly forlorn but beautiful words
in some unknown lingo
she drinks red wine and laughs out loud
she marks out the seasons
she colours the flowers
she presses the grape
she conceives a heroic son
who drinks moonblood and
fights outside the walls of troy
scarlet queen in silver chariot
calling to her son from the fray
her ringlets and curls flying in the wind
natalie sleeps and dreams shes 4 years old
on holiday with her grandparents
shes safe and warm in the back of the car
as she hears them nattering away up front
they stop at a motel
and she has a swim in the pool
she makes friends with a dog
she watches tv in their little room
outside its sultry
in the dream
in north bondi
a woman from the paper rings up
and we do and interview
steve…?
yes
whats it like to die?
it will be a sweet release, child
steve…?
yes
will everything be ok?
ah, how could it not….
we are all actors
when this play is done….
but steve i dont want my play to end…
no none us do so we must learn to let go
let go let go let go
think it do it
let go of that lump in your throat
let go of those tears in your eyes
let go of the life you had led
steve….?
yes
im alone and frightened
ah yes childe
the human condition
so alone
alone we go into the unknown
without maps or gimmicks or self defence
trusting it will all work out
the woman hangs up
from my window i see the opera house
as it sinks in the harbour
the towers all opening and closing
the hydrofoils mount the land and hump the earth
the shops retail spirits
all the “straights” in the big end of town
are busy schmoozing backbiting and jostling
i had a hundred bucks once…gee what colour was it
mum and dad have stopped in cooma cos russ got carsick
i told you boys not to eat all those bloody chocolate biscuits
snarls my mother
dads worried about the carpet in the back of the car
watching in the rearview
he winces everytime russell heaves
the miserable kid is clutching his guts and retching
it occurs to me how much braver russell is than me
he never complained of feeling sick
he just sat up and cast up his accounts
me…i woulda complained all the way from jindabyne
till i finally did it
and then i woulda been all fragile the rest of the day
russell finishes vomiting and carries on as if nothing happened
up the front mum n dad argue over the carpet
and who gave out the biscuits in the first place
meanwhile in 1990
a horrible brassy old strumpet writing for an english rag
who fancies marty but hates me
writes a very nasty article that sinks the ss church in blighty
grunge comes along
followed by boy bands
followed by emo
and lollapalooza
and mr white knocked at my door
ohh mr white
you were such a good friend then you hurted me good
and in north bondi they build a duplex in the fifties
and on sultry days a mad woman living there
peers into the future
she sees a brown n freckled medium man
in his late middle age maybe
its hard to say
and hes typing at a little white oblong thing
with a screen
and he listens to strange music
from a white shoebox looking thing
and his room has a picture of a silk screened buddha
gold he shines beneath the bodhi tree
the leaves and mountains gold tinged
his silver halo radiates around his holy head
the end to suffering
wanting is suffering
desire is suffering
or leads to suffering
be content whispers buddha
everythings ok
is everything ok now? dad asks as he drives
yes everythings ok we say
the radio plays apache by the shadows
or is it shadow by the apaches
everything in flux
everything constantly changing
learn to love it
love to learn it
soft rain gently falling outside
soothes the hot surfers
the hot surface
the path is clear
neptune arises
scarlet whirls like a dervish
a machine powers down
the day drones on
and on