Published in Overland Issue 224 Spring 2016 Uncategorized Solve a problem and it grows two heads Michael Farrell when I get what i want i worry go off bleeding into the Dusk lean my hungry Head against a taco Truck, nibble till i’m fit to bust on service Friendliness. independence is stark and hard-won, like a Sky blue Tiger that scares off mice but won’t touch Flies: and tigers are so unmusical, I think but don’t say turning Conversation into a stalemate which reminds Me i meant to get a crow to share the Load of bread my mother sent. my Dentist says i’ve naturally gold Teeth so i hide my smile when i’m down the Street in case of muggers You love me so much i daren’t risk the Love i might get from others when I was in rome i was jealous of Everyone in paris: it created an emotional Short-circuit, that followed Me around the world. it was like when I was an uphill champion and I felt so well i would take a pill and some Medicine to wash it down suddenly There were two hills and double the Competition and two Bottles of water making me twice as thirsty so I went twice as fast to get away from It all and found Myself in the desert sitting on cacti and talking to Camels like they were Poets and dreamers not thieves and Sorcerers or dope test informers suddenly a Bullet came out of the West and i saved my humpy Mate’s life with an improvised Vest: it fell off their chest into a Tin can i produced for the purpose now This was music but i’d never find a Producer in this apparently deservedly maligned Part of earth Michael Farrell Originally from Bombala, NSW, Michael Farrell is a Melbourne-based poet, with a collage practice which can be seen on instagram @limechax. Googlecholia is out now from Giramondo. 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 First published in Overland Issue 228 27 January 2023 Cartoons In attacking us, they bring us together Sam Wallman 'What these bosses don't understand is that in attacking us, they bring us together.' (Paddy Crumlin, Maritime Union of Australia, Svitzer Rally November 2022) 2 First published in Overland Issue 228 24 January 202325 January 2023 Politics The end of the politics of care Giovanni Tiso The daily spectacle of televised briefings was not unique to New Zealand, and it may simply be the case that Ardern thrived when given the opportunity to speak to the public directly—in other words, that she was better than others at it. Alternatively, we could say that her rhetoric found in the pandemic the ground on which to turn into concrete action. Either way, the benefits we derived in terms of lives saved from the remarkable extension of that social license are literally incalculable.