Published in Overland Issue 205 Summer 2011 · Uncategorized Bite the Wax Tadpole DJ Huppatz History is the heavy. The Azure Dragon lives in a world woven by ration and romantics. It’s easiest to capture things that don’t move. Large bronze vats, for example. Weeds twist the blue-tiled roof out of proportion, lead petals drop chips on the golden paper sails. My little rose-cherry-rusty lotus bud looked counter-evolutionary in her velvet uniform and silver boots. Xinjiang restaurateurs, Henan recyclers, Anhui maids and Hebei builders, shepherded by an invisible hand, like a swarm of swallows or the melancholic object of her disappearing. In those days there was no electricity, the attendants carried lanterns of scarlet gaze. Now the city’s a radio and the Azure Dragon is broadcasting: “Bite the Wax Tadpole, The World’s Most Stimulating Bland.” DJ Huppatz D J Huppatz is a Melbourne-based writer who has had poetry published recently in VLAK 2 (2011) and Black Inc.’s The Best Australian Poems 2011. More by DJ Huppatz 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 5 June 2023 · Cartoons Where to build an overdose prevention centre Sam Wallman The proposed locations of overdose prevention centres aren't chosen at random. They are based on evidence and careful consideration. For the site to be effective, it needs to be pinpointed, in what experts call a 'honeypot'. 1 First published in Overland Issue 228 2 June 20232 June 2023 · Friday Poetry Three Chaingrass poems Catherine Vidler Three visual poems from Catherine Vidler's Chaingrass series.