Published in Overland Issue 224 Spring 2016 · Uncategorized Solve a problem and it grows two heads Michael Farrell when I get what i want i worry go off bleeding into the Dusk lean my hungry Head against a taco Truck, nibble till i’m fit to bust on service Friendliness. independence is stark and hard-won, like a Sky blue Tiger that scares off mice but won’t touch Flies: and tigers are so unmusical, I think but don’t say turning Conversation into a stalemate which reminds Me i meant to get a crow to share the Load of bread my mother sent. my Dentist says i’ve naturally gold Teeth so i hide my smile when i’m down the Street in case of muggers You love me so much i daren’t risk the Love i might get from others when I was in rome i was jealous of Everyone in paris: it created an emotional Short-circuit, that followed Me around the world. it was like when I was an uphill champion and I felt so well i would take a pill and some Medicine to wash it down suddenly There were two hills and double the Competition and two Bottles of water making me twice as thirsty so I went twice as fast to get away from It all and found Myself in the desert sitting on cacti and talking to Camels like they were Poets and dreamers not thieves and Sorcerers or dope test informers suddenly a Bullet came out of the West and i saved my humpy Mate’s life with an improvised Vest: it fell off their chest into a Tin can i produced for the purpose now This was music but i’d never find a Producer in this apparently deservedly maligned Part of earth 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 24 April 202624 April 2026 · Friday Poetry A slam dunk publication Michael Farrell Australians said, landed among manatees, did useful, / neatnesses, knitted, pleasingly. Spared liaisons, amassed, / mortal dangers, unforeseen, nor kids, prayed aloud. 1 23 April 202623 April 2026 · The media The importance of democratic frequencies: on the threatened closure of 2SER Daz Chandler 2SER operates not just as a broadcaster, but as an incubator of democratic culture, its alumni carrying forward practices shaped by collaboration, dissent and accountability to community.