white out

in the hot sydney night as conspiracies hatch in darkness

languid sea in the shadow of cliffs

in the murmur of the thunders muffled in distant clouds

reefs of sky a jungle within the box

the memory remains

retaining walls of lives juggled and lost

inhuman shield admitting soft rays

the green hundreds

the khaki fifties

the need for black money

on balconies drinking wine

under the skylights relax before a screen

the intrepid illusion of security measuring you for a size

the women show up paid for and plastic

once they were children monstrously lovely

again in the garden they piss on the roses

the gangster in nissan watches impassive

some cash would be nice but blood will do nicely

some hammer some freedom some chick and some slack

a shower in hotel where gabriel came down

a bed in the delta where the little boats go

some dog started biting i felt his fangs sinking

although it all happened aeons ago

they call you a taxi but youre still inside swimming

impossible strokes on the flesh down below

wriggling and writhing and running around them

the sand in your shoes is slowing you down

christ i see your face in the billboards and posters

in windows in mirrors in doorways and malls

in the tides that appear with their jellies and anemones

in the hum of the fan that spins in dead air