Nature strip tease


The circadian rhythm of the footpath
gets messy on wk/ends.

In the early morning I break out
in a dew. My tote bag needs a good wash,
I think, waiting for the Uber Pool.
If a woman has no sidewalk
then we will imagine one for her.

The nature strip is not lush
but trodden. An ideological position
can never be really successful
until it is naturalised
. And the Uber
Pool still hasn’t arrived while I eye
the resilience of a kikuyu lawn.
I bought a litre of coconut water
for my health, and a kilo of corner
store for my rental crisis. That’s normal,
right? The parking inspector will inspect
empty space. So just push through

the greenery to show me something natural
(Like an ass with some stretch marks)
.
Let your nature strip go
to seed, your self-care
be squandered here

in the circadian mess of strangers
& watch the footpath, always.

 

 

Italicised lines from:
Anne Boyer, Garments against Women
Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism
Kendrick Lamar, ‘HUMBLE’

Harriet McInerney

Harriet McInerney is a Sydney-based writer. She is the author of Houseplant (SOd) and was shortlisted for the 2018 TLB Experimental Non-Fiction Prize.

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