don’t want
to w a l k
any where any more
lingering orientalism
delivered
to your door
—
guy does the guy
collected guy’s
collective events gaga
does the gaga
&
yes
when i think about it
echolalia’s
not that medical
—
antigen desserts
lined up
leaning across
the oblong bar
it’s me
&
the irish guy
pat
&
habib
the algerian guy
(deux mecs
et moi)
at
the zinc counter
we’re
dreaming a drink
we’re
lingering
à denfert rocherau
this page
intentionally
left bank
never jetting up
again
—
the blanket fringe
walks across
my cheek
like a spider
—
what’s ‘arvo’
for morning?
—
bare hands
smooth
a plane tree trunk
shaving
under
the cambian layer
scrape sift
more dust
—
no pension person
wondering
what’s next
spockalock investor
searches
is my airbag safe
dot com
insurance advice
blame a fog
—
travel’s out
bottling’s out
touching’s out
cloud
i cloud cloud
it’s
nothing to you
on your
security bubble
cloud
to wherever
(get offa ma)
don’t lose sleep
don’t lose focus
not now
&
you did
—
history asks
could things
get any worse
could
history
get any worse
could worse
get any worse
like
wittgenstein
whacking
the slow kids
at
the village school
any worse?
(surely not)
boxed their ears
&
one child died
wittgenstein
fled
to vienna
—
reading
this sorry tale
while
lingering
almost reclining
on
a curvy bench
in
the pocket park
a favourite
outdoor wedding
location
fragments
silver bits
white tat
ashy peach
chintz flake
rubbish
left behind
—
what was
a glory box
supposed to be?
viennese
lace curlicue
gilt curlicue
froufrou inlay
an oakwood trunk
full of folderol
kept
for a girl
for marriage
not dowry –
glory
a trousseau
linen tea towels
embroidered
tablecloths
&
denouemental
enslavement
to slow cookers
&
white goods
—
(i know –
‘denouemental’
i know
i made it up)
—
lingering
between fridges
in
the electrical store
that boasts
‘you can shop with confidence’
—
receiving the latest
pronoun & noun
instructions
to use ‘folks’
instead of ‘guys’
sounds like
advice from nambour
the folks
leaning across
the oblong bar
two folks
les deux mecs
& me
at the zinc counter
lingering
over drinks
à denfert rocherau
that’s
the bar
directly above
the catacombs
if you need
some poncy atmosphere
