the dawn awoke before the killer
a night of blue flashes and bone rattling thunder
a night of vivid dreams n astral visitations
memories slide down the window with the rain
my dad comes back sometimes n we talk
my dad says
youre older than me now, slim….!
i say
but i still cant play the piana like you dad
dad says
you need to let go to really play the piano, son
he starts to muck about on his piano
look at this….slim!… youre not even watching….
lyneham oh lyneham oh lyneham
wherefore art thou lyneham?
yeah they got some counterfeit lyneham there now, dad
what d’you meanby that, son…?
well they got internet access n gays drinkin’ soy lattes
dad says
i didnt understand a bloody word…..
dad, theres trees n all the houses are done up
and all the old ghosts have fled…..
and the young girls are now grandmothers
and the teachers are all old and distracted
time has moved on
leaving us all struggling in its wake
and this is just another dream, isnt it….
afterschool
i catch a bus into town to the olympic pool
richard michalak and colin burton n paul turner are there
the p.a. plays the latest hits of the day
and the music keeps me in a state of constant sensitivity
everything overwhelms me
i jump in the pool n nearly drown
i go n buy some lollies…a kurl bar n licorice
my sunburn is peeling
my hair is short
my head is like a square
my eyes seem old
my teeth are yellow with 2 white stains at the front
my nose is red n freckled
my hair is dead straight n nondescript brown
i stand in the mens changerooms looking in the mirror
god i’d like to become invisible n go into the ladies changerooms
god, i’d like to see a naked lady
i sit on the bus for ages
all the way down miller street thru turner n o’connor
megan mc who i am secretely in love with
has taken the same bus home
she sits 4 rows further up
oblivious to my presence
but to me the air is charged with fairydust
the bus drivers radio blasts tinnily
i say hey hey you you get offa my cloud
the rolling stones come thru some tiny speaker
it feels dangerous just to listen to em…
whats the date, dad?
aw i dont know…..november something, isnt it?
its the 20th of november, leslie…says aunty lou
shes putting the dinner things out
egg n chips with tomato sauce
custard n rhubarb for afters
be christmas soon …my dad says
mum in the kitchen groans
what you want for christmas then …..slim?
dad do you remember that year…?
i got a simon n garfunkel record
and i got a tank that needed batteries
so you drove me down the esso but they were closed too
and a loada people rolled up
who all got mildly drunk, i guess
except for you n mum
and the kids ran around wild
and lyneham itself was wild
there were frill necked lizards 3 feet long n yabbies in the dam
farmers with shotguns on horseback chasing us thru the barb wire
everything smelt of chlorine
our washing went round n round on the hills hoist
our back yard was half n acre of stones n weeds
canberra sat in a valley in a heat dope stupor
the sixties had finally arrived in minis n mu-mu dresses
the bitter lemons released their own record
wow! the bitter lemons…what a great name
at school i drew pictures of bands playing guitars
at school where slagger slade was the principal
so called
cos when he was talking he’d spit all over you
it was truly a disgusting victorian kind of thing
and he gave me the cane and fuck! it hurt
i played cricket n got in fights n got punched in the face
i got ten cents a day
5 cents for half a vegemite roll
5 cents for afterschool lollies
or maybe a sunny boy with a lucky number in it
or maybe chip in with someone for 10 cents worth of chips
lets ride out to the quarry off dryandra street
jesus its all uphill
at the quarry we chuck stones at the silvergreen water
and finally some kid chucks a rock through some glass
and people come out shouting at us
and we jump on our bikes laughing n riding away
but i hit a rut n fall off my bike n hurt my arm
n all the kids are laughing at me
as i try not to cry
when i get home mums angry cos russells hurt himself too
and the dog dug up next doors garden
n pru daly is playing country n western too loud
n mark daly is practicing the drums
he plays the same drum riff over n over
my dad says something that makes everyone laugh
even auntie lou
he says:
“he’ll never play those drums
as long as he’s got a hole in his bum!”
just like some oldtime cockney comedian…
oh les! says auntie lou trying to stifle her giggling
its not a pretty sight
shes such a big lady
shes not fat
shes big like a rawboned rugby player is big
charming language for the table says my mother
although she laughed as well
but outside
the drum practice n tammy wynette fill the summery air
lyneham as it will never be again
before all them trees n soy lattes
when kids ‘d shoot at ya with air rifles n cracker guns
and i walked abroad in my shortie pyjamas
2 channels blacknwhite
cup of tea n chocolate biscuit
mum rings england every christmas
dad always makes her mum n dad laugh
20th of november….christmas soon
school begins to kinda deterioate in early december
we are allowed to bring games
the last week of school
someone brings a record player
and we listen to records n play games
the sky was always blue
the nights were always hot
the stars burnt on so fiercely
dad, do ya remember all that?