Published in Overland Issue 220 Spring 2015 · Uncategorized The bush and the internet are interchangeable Michael Farrell A wife looks at her husband; a treefrog at a modem. They view the bush from a comfortable position: enjoy wifi by the campfire like a Manet. Five years later the scene becomes unrecognisable. (May flocks of mosquitoes and other blessings … But that’s no subject.) Suddenly, after pages of sympathy, to see a yam like an idealised bull pizzle. (Pizzle a word not often mentioned on the internet.) The paddock’s dry, the river flows into the spare living room. There are videos of thousands of birds avoiding each other. Why? Yet, a poem should not resemble flora chatting at a party. Sometimes it’s hard to know where Australia is. Am I that snakeskin? Or the wind that tweets of conformity? I’m searching for your ghost name in quote marks your picture, your catchphrase, the trace of your body lures me on, we are heading further away from the town, the road is narrow, winding, leaf litter everywhere. I’m clicking on life guards but the air con’s unresponsive. I know there’s salt in the creek: a pink cockatoo’s spitting popcorn at the window. Should fences keep vagabonds out or in? Beware a flash cattle grid: cluey trolls will tuck up their swags and roll right over it 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 3 June 20263 June 2026 · Reviews The past in the object: Vanessa Berry’s Calendar Courtney Powell In her latest book, Calendar, Vanessa Berry explores the relationships that are formed between people and material culture, both fleeting and sentimental, and how they can come to represent us. 1 June 2026 · Culture We were all workers on GeoCities Maria Dudko GeoCities remains an important reminder that collective labour on the internet is not new — and that recognising ourselves as workers is the first step towards organising as such.