killer awakes before dawn
he chooses a face from the ancient gallery
(freckled tanned getting old)
and he walks on down the hall
he comes to the room of his doodles
doodles?
yes daddy
i want to….
i want to get you to school on time
(so i dont have to go in and fill in the form)
oh sad day
the doodles and i cant get it together
to achieve liftoff momentum
and leave the houses orbit
always something
i cant find my keys
scarlets screaming demanding another kiss goodbye from eve
aurora cant find her bloody flute
i dunno whatever
eventually we walk off towards school
its about 5 minutes away
i start razzing the doodles
hey doodles yer teachers gonna be waiting for ya with the cane
no dad says one doodle
stop that says the other doodle
yep (i say) shes gonna be furious with you
no she wont dad says one doodle
she wont says the other
like a volcano her anger will be pouring out like smoke
i’m raving on now enjoying the sound of my own voice
and she’ll be waving a fiery cane thats going wwwwhhhhooooo
as she swings it round
dad they dont cane kids anymore says one doodle
they’d get fired if they did says the other
bloody hell doodles!
i know that …i’m just givin’ ya a story as we walk to skooly
we dont want that sort of thing says eve
we want something……nice says aurora
something nice they both chime together
ok i say
i’m up for the challenge of something nice
i cast around
i think of george bush fucking up the economy
i think of mal turnbull at an art gallery
i think of the oil goin’ down
and the climate going up
and the ye olde inflation swallowing my royalty cheque
i think of all my mistakes and blunders
but nice…..?!
so i say
well doodles you know….i’m quite a nice guy
i’m walking along holding hands with em
theres a profound silence after my last remark
arent i…doodles….?
the doodles dont reply
but i feel a slight tremor in each hand i’m holding
i hear a sound like suppressed……laughter
suddenly the doodles both break out in their characteristic laffs
eve a rapid fire guffaw huh huh huh huh huh
aurora like an old lady oh ha ha ha ha
whats this? i say
slightly wounded
you dont think i’m a nice guy?
aurora comes up with one of her typical sayings
ah dad ah well ah ya know
its only coz youre nice
that we can laugh when you say youre nice
yeah! says eve but not really following the logic
ok i say scratching my head
i s’pose thats alright then….is it?
suddenly school hoves into sight
are we late?
arent we late?
yes no
yes no
the doodles make a charge for it
we can still do it they say
eve runs off without a kiss
eve wheres my kiss
she turns in mid flight
but her eyes are glazed over
shes like a school zombie now
she kisses me goodbye
but no ones at home
shes already in the playground
aurora gives me a kiss
bye dad
youll forget me the moment you walk thru that gate i say
no dad i wont..she reassures me
yes you will i say
well tonite i’ll tell ya how long it took, ok dad?
ok i say…damn shes fobbed me off again
go to the pool
its very cold in the water
a real shock
someone said they felt under attack in there
it is an instant attitude adjustment
it is a defining moment of the day
its freezing
it knocks the air outta yer lungs
at this point most punters get back out
but us winter swimmers
we stay in
eventually you get a lovely warm numb feeling
as you swim through the icy water
your mind slows down
you can get some planning done
think things thru
the sauna is hot
no “outers” today
just an old russian guy enjoying the heat
i come home
work on jumbo
play with scarlet
who is both nasty and nice
i go out n do yoga
and shes crawling into the crooks of my arms n legs
and sliding over and under me
she’s being the yoga terrorist
we end up sitting there in the winter sun
me cross legged
her on my lap
having a good old natter
she sees the moon in the sky…but its day
its the moon-sun she says
later on the mynah birds start flying in the house
one gets trapped and squirted with some water for its trouble
it goes back out the door like a bat out of hell
aha…i’m armed with waterpistols and i’m a good shot
theres a mynah sitting on my balc
chewing on one of my potted shrubs
i blast the bastard right thru the screen
he didnt even know i was there
now he looks like donald duck
getting a squirt right in the eye
he flies off expressing his shock and awe
clicking and whistling
wow i’m armed and ready
my action however
only escalated the war
the mynahs were trying to get back in all day
despite taking several hits
and dropping some very nasty dollops in my house
scarlet a victim of friendly fire
and no truce negotiated