Published in Overland Issue 203 Winter 2011 · Main Posts Ode to Business Man on Crown Street Adam Formosa Turning invisible will come as a blow. (if you turn your glasses upside down you can see the other side) Don’t let the waitress know or you won’t get your eggs Benedict! First turn your fingers to fist, (because they’ll surely know) tuck your feet under the table, hide those mustard-gas shoes, while your skin sinks inside itself. It folds and folds and folds until the table next to you (discussing how a 747 can’t drop into the sea) sees you squirming, undressing her words like crunching Velcro. Your hand passes through your macchiato! your fingertips – like glass – gleam hollow. (gone to the bottom of the Atlantic!) Next your: 1) sleeves will depress 2) tongue will fade 3) wallet will bulge under your empty suit So when the waitress comes, she’ll think you’ve done a birthday-runner, so pack light, the Atlantic is thirty-seven stories deep. Adam Formosa is a third-year creative writing student at the University of Wollongong. He was recently published in Best Australian Poetry. © Adam Formosa Overland 203-winter 2011, p. 73 Like this piece? Subscribe! Adam Formosa Adam Formosa is a NSW South Coast-based poet, whose best work comes out while listening to Deadmau5. More by Adam Formosa › 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 First published in Overland Issue 228 10 November 202311 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 On the final day of Subscriberthon, Overland’s most important members get to have their say Editorial Team BORIS A quick guide to another year of Overland, from your trusty feline, Boris. I liked the ginger cat story, though it made my human cry. I liked the talking cat, too, but I’m definitely in the “not wasting my time learning to talk” camp. But reading is good. And writing is fun, though it’s been challenging […] 1 First published in Overland Issue 228 9 November 20239 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 On the second-last day of Subscriberthon, Overland’s co-chief editor Evelyn Araluen speaks truth to power Editorial Team To my friends and comrades, I’m not sure if there’s language to communicate how this last month has utterly changed me. This time a few weeks ago the busyness and chaos of bricolage arts and academic labour had so efficiently distracted me from my anxiety about the upcoming referendum that I forgot to prepare myself for its inevitable conclusion.
