Published in Overland Issue 221 Summer 2015 · Uncategorized pages Derek Motion we’ll always be running in the hail local boys a-slouch like bus shelters let’s make a vow achieve a strained expression & watch the meeting collapse like a car in the bay hustler of this overland plane else the cold of my pie: vodka on an empty stomach to several boastful threats you know whatever shared contact detail suggests close attention the way you prod and caress the front seat gaze fixed pointedly the way you bite nibble show off a stance of ‘quizzical’ (taxi aggression mooted) a bent spine under candlelight & you’re my redgum rhinoceros: ‘hello’ then say nothing into a submissive hug stage-left we alter the red-shift afterwards to form a pleasing grin to bring culture to me failing that words: her right leg brought upward into an overpowering straddle the glint of dark blue after such a fall so pretty so sunrise … rope climbs the neck theatrics in the embarrassment of dance worse material in the bank i wonder lunch is an awkward token of thought we all get more photogenic in the wind & it was nothing boarding pass as bookmark as over-proof life Derek Motion Derek Motion lives in Narrandera where he writes and works as an Arts Development Officer. He was the winner of the 2009 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize; his first collection lollyology was published in 2012. More by Derek Motion 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 8 June 2023 · Technology ‘AI’ and the quest to redefine workers’ autonomy Rob Horning The phrase artificial intelligence is a profoundly ideological way to characterise automation technologies. It is an expression of the general tendency to discuss technologies as though they were ‘powerful’ in and of themselves—as if power weren’t a relative measure of the different capacities and prerogatives of social classes. First published in Overland Issue 228 7 June 2023 · Housing Taking the Rat King on tour Murdoch Stephens Late last year, Renters United and I joined together to make a new version of Rat King Landlord that would be free to renters. I had been aware of Renters United for about four years when the book came out and I loved what they were up to. Whenever the weird logic of property speculation got air time, Renters United would be there talking about the real impact on people. We were faced with two challenges: where to get the funds to make a few thousand copies, and how to make sure the copies didn’t just sit in our garages getting damp.
