I’m somewhere pathetic when I finally crack
like I’m at Laserforce or I’m patting a stranger’s dog
or I’ve wandered into a vape shop by accident
or I’m in the laundry items aisleI crack and the crack goes right up through me
it’s not exactly ripping myself a new asshole—
it’s taking the asshole I’ve got and making it … way bigger
so that the wind rushes through me with an unearthly howl
and as it surges outward
throughout all of humanity
everyone flees
everyone runs to the sea
everyone runs to the sea except me
everyone wades in and drowns and no one comes back
I spend the rest of my short life looting canned food and nice clothes
from abandoned shops in the CBDbut in fact ! all of this is untrue……….I’ve been lying
no one ever left in the first place and I never even cracked
I never crack because I like it here I like to play my little games—
I like to tell my little jokes I like to make my gentle threats
there are people everywhere and I am always lying to them
like this : look at me !!! look at me run when in fact I am standing still
I haven’t moved for several minutes
why does everyone keep believing me
it’s not that I’m a baddie I’m just
always wrongand it’s not my fault ! in fact I have a congenital disease of wrongness
I grew up getting severely bested in arguments I’d be like
losing my mind in the back of the car my dumb little voice
rising higher and higher my sister smirking her smirk of righteousness
when I was straining for some kind of point like you know
exactly like pushing for a shit before it is ready
you can’t fucking take it back man once you’ve strained enough
I’d be so embarrassed if it was just my personality it’s so fortunate that I
have my congenital disease to blameoh no I’m lying again sorry it happens literally all the time
I wasn’t born with it
I actually developed it as a public service :
I have to cry wolf so the villagers can get their satisfaction
I have to be wrong so that you can be right
it’s actually……….charity I’m doing charity on you psych
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones