sorry
i cant talk right now
im busy making a mistake
im turning off at the lights up ahead
its a warm stormy day here
in the humdrum hurly burly
in my little blue mazda
with the radio playing poignant lovesongs
i pull into yet another seaside town
each with its own gimmicks n black spots
with its secrets and myths
i got the window down
and a pleasant cool change
comes slipping in beside me
yeah i cruise down the main street
like i know what i’m doing
like i been cruising down mainstreet forever
w/ low hung dark clouds and tossing trees
a queue outside the fishnchip place
a police station and a funeral parlour
the sea is grey blue with white caps
i slip into an amusement parlour
i like pinball
sometimes i get lucky in pool
a guy walks up to me
hey mate wanna game of pool
yeah i say
he smiles n sets em up
hes dressed in a t shirt
board shorts
shaggy brown hair
with blond bits
surfers hair i guess
hes much better than me
i feel like he’d be better than me at almost anything
he hits almost every shot
i put my money in and we keep playing
but i never have a chance
terry he says introducing himself
hes feline no hes actually quite leonine
his cheekbones are so far apart
his green eyes see far and deep
he moves around the table with impossible grace
he growls when he occaisionally misses
i put a song on the jukebox
terry looks up and grins
oh i like this one….
so do i i say
terry sings along with the words as he shoots
his voice is mellifluous
his voice is warm and sweet
in terrys mouth the words taste better than on the juke box
terry knows all the words
he leans back and lights a marlboro green
he smokes like its life or death to him
like he needs the smoke
the way he sucks it in so long and cool
yeah i like marlboro greens you say
he offers you the last one in the packet
no go on take it he says
and his smile is genuine
beguiling without guile
and youre playing pool with this great kid
and hes sharing his smokes with you
and hes singing along to the music you picked
do you live here i ask him
no he laughs white square teeth in tanned face
we’re from sydney…
we….? i ask
a girl materialises at his side
come in from the gathering storm outside
in the mainstreet
of some little seaside town that dots the coast
little seaside town with old church and cemetary
little seaside town with pretty beach and inlet
the girl is a female version of terry
im terri she says
what ? i say
did he tell you his name was terry?
did she tell you her name was terri?
they both laughed conspiratorially then
but was that it?
am i naive
or suspicious?
a bit of both
whos this ? she asks her brother
he must be her twin brother
he introduces me
what part of sydney are you from ? i say
we’re from the northern beaches they say together
do you have a car asks terri
as we stand in that amusement arcade
yes i do i say
terry nods
do you wanna go?
yes i do
i yearn to go
though not to arrive
i need to travel through these canefields and forests
i need to shed my skinny skin skin
i need the endless choc mint wedges and vanilla shakes
i need the petrol stations and the fluid miles
the rushing bushes on the side of the road
hanging my arm out the window
watching the towns go by in the mirror as theyre gone
curving with the humps n slumps of the streets
as you pull into marine pde in the early evening
as you switch the engine off
the radio stops dead
the silence except for the surf
occaisionally thunder rumbles
the odd pink fork of lightning
the lawn is green and well kept
the lawn is expensive lawn with a surprising springiness
i walk barefoot across the lawn
terri on one side
terry on the other
the house backed right onto a beach
around the house were buddhas
huge heads in the garden
buddha with his helmut of curls
buddhas painted gold with red eyes
big and small and ornate and simple
they unlock the door
i step through into a lovely place
with wooden polished boards
beams of light
spacious art
carpet of warm silence
luxuriant plants and orchids on black bookshelves
white furniture
come in they say
as i’m already in
i’m already in i say
yes you are they say and smile
both with the same smile
a smile that lights up every corner of your heart
like an ancient mediterranean smile
like theyre etruscans or something
her sandals wind around her heels like athena
ive never been in a house like this before
stained glass windows and a breakfast bar
its our holiday house they say
where are your parents i say
not here they laugh
not here
terri makes tomato soup for dinner
we sit around watching the night come on
i eat 5 slices of bread and they laugh
im still hungry i say
we can see that they say and laugh
their musical laugh with mirth and sincerity
their happy laugh with compassion and joy
are you twins ? i ask eventually as it starts to rain
as the droplets crash into the black glass
as the trees buckle and bend in the windows
and the clothes on the line danced around
the boston ferns and elephant ears
caught the water and flung it back at the sky
terri puts some music on
something instrumental
do you like miles ?they say
miles davis i ask
they nod
oh yeah i say hes ah…really great i think i say
terri nods and terry smiles
terry makes some nescafe instant coffee
they both laugh when i ask for 3 and a half sugars
where are you from says terri
canberra i say
oh oh they both say and laugh
have you been there much ? i say
yes its awful they both answer
i imagine their street where they live
in some swanky beach suburb next to a golf course
they went to some cool school
where terri had all the cool boys
while terry had all the cool girls
terri is studying at uni
studying arts
terry got into uni
but hes deferring cos hes a pro surfer
what about you ? they say
no i didnt get in i say
i didnt get into any unis at all
what do you do? terri asks
i play the bass guitar i exaggerate a little
really ?she asks her eyes wide and excited
yeah i say
im pretty good
terry excitedly ushers us into another room
theres a fender bass in its case and an amp
play for us man he says
do you play? i ask
terry plays in king astral she says
not the king astral
the teenage band from sydneys northern beaches?
i ask increduously
yes they both say
the one thats been number one for one month ? i ask unbelievingly
yes they both say
terry picks up the bass
and plays that complicated riff
he plays it with liquid digital agility youve never contemplated
the lovely bass riff from their hit single
the one you could clumsily fudge
but terry renders it with flourishes slides n slurs
a lightning bolt strikes nearby
and the house is suddenly immersed in darkness
you stand there
listening to them breathe
and the rain