Published in Overland Issue 217 Summer 2014 · Uncategorized Xanadu Nathan Curnow after the film directed by Robert Greenwald, 1980 for the attractive people there is a wall to skate through it was a joke until somebody told it most of the town murals are dripping red – there is no talking sense to the ugly some try the Biblical Diet to get into shape or wear the breastplate of Saint Patrick some couples get married before they roll it is probably best if you are intoxicated makes no difference if you like the movie there are new spurts of red every day you won’t get through if you wear a helmet it is a watermelon explosion if you fail a place where so many of us dare to go might be the mural on the toilet block the love and the love and the echoes of where neon tubes blink ultra violet egged on by a fever that can’t be denied it is too late to unlock the secrets of fat the runway is lit and the bystanders waiting what commentators say about your face Nathan Curnow Nathan Curnow lives in Ballarat and is a past editor of Going Down Swinging. His latest poetry collection is RADAR. More by Nathan Curnow › 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 9 December 20249 December 2024 · Militarisation War stories: how weapons corporations create social licence for genocide Wage Peace The weapons industry remains masterful at propagating a number of quite specific false narratives to misdirect attention, not just at arms fairs, but across all their operations. This goes far beyond misrepresentation of police violence on protestors, and cumulatively aims to generate a social license, including for genocide. 6 December 20246 December 2024 · Palestine The movement for Palestine is now… Sam Wallman "The movement for Palestine is now stronger, smarter, louder and better connected than ever before." (Noura Mansour)