Published in Overland Issue Print Issue 198 Autumn 2010 · Writing / Main Posts wide open road Michael Farrell There could be anything … elongation of a spear Needling To a sphere they think, mind suffused with honey, i reach out, hes a dead man, closing the gateness behind him. We crack the nut & Go on – Theres a Ballet in the trees What a Cool Idea, the economy flows Like a creek at our feet, with a few subtle body bags we ignore. Then i realise im not wearing my red Pin or singing ‘How do you think it feels at night!’ It gives you a bad back & a youthless appearance Sleeping with people or sheep dogs When the loneliness you love is in the Eyes of someone else youre wired We came back after a decade of Drought the briar & burdock gone trialling new forms of Outdoor glass – the schools are laying eggs now Our vehicle stops We sit on our tails Some get pads out Draw a blue sky Reflectors on the inside … You touch a locust & have a vision That were Walking along a rope not A-road the koalas Yaaawnnnnnn For the money Nurses cruise through pursued by reporters on trikes. Michael Farrell Michael Farrell is from Bombala, NSW, and has lived in Melbourne since 1990. Michael’s previous books include: Googlecholia (poems), A Lyrebird (U.S. selected poems); The Victoria Principle (stories), Writing Australian Unsettlement (literary history), and Ashbery Mode (poetry anthology; as editor). Michael edits The Chalamet Review, and is also poetry editor of Westerly. More by Michael Farrell › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 20 March 20262 April 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize seeks outstanding poetry from new and emerging writers. This year’s judges, Shastra Deo, Harry Reid and […] 20 March 202620 March 2026 · Main Posts Final results of the 2025 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize Editorial team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize seeks outstanding original short fiction of up to 3000 words themed loosely around the notion […]