proceeded not from the circumstances of
geography, but from sheer will of one man
plus balloons. The call came electric:
come to a picnic. Because we are no longer
willing to remain imaginary and avatared,
we brought cheese and children.
I arrived first with a boy pre-grubbed into
the shade of an aardwolf, the earth-wolf.
Of South Africa he knows nothing.
For fuck’s sake, of South Melbourne
he knows nothing. We shut and opened
the creak of rotunda gates and I thought
of people I would soon embrace.
This is how space begins: with words only
bright on a screen, with @ and # and
tentative DMs towards IRL. And then ---
They flew in with blankets and arms
and arrayed themselves into points:
this star, is very easy to assemble.
God doesn’t love you, but friends might;
I know which pair of arms I’d choose.
I have settled on this that life was:
weakness, strength. Was the exception
the maelstrom of people I have found?
I asked my boy this question, he answered
me with a handful of almonds. One thing more:
I have missed you today, missed your
quick straight-teeth smile that proclaims:
there was my librarian, stern and infallible.
And silent, your eyes for me across the grass
threading past plates of chicken and bread.
_______________________________________________________
Today's poem is based on suggestions from eight people:
- @timsterne: "proceeded not from the circumstances of geography but from sheer will" (Joan Didion, Sentimental Journeys)
- @kirsty_l: "God doesn't love you" (Katharine Susannah Prichard, The Pioneers)
- @matchtrick: "We are no longer willing to remain imaginary" (Alberto Manguel, Into the Looking Glass Wood)
- @marklawrence: "Life was weakness, strength was the exception." (Peter Temple, The Broken Shore)
- @jayjaycee1: "This star is very easy to assemble" (Frederique Gueret, Magical Window Stars)
- @_esther: "This is how space begins, with words only" (Georges Perec, Species of Spaces)
- @_camer0n: "there was my librarian, stern and infallible and silent" (Charles Bukowski, Ham On Rye)
- @ernmalleyscat: "aardwolf, the earth-wolf of South Africa" (Arthur L Hayward, The Concise English Dictionary)
1 comment:
Something so mundanely romantic about looking at someone through chicken and bread! Unless, perhaps, they've poked holes into a chicken sandwich and have ended up with a lapful of chicken.
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