1. The dry panini
Oh no – anything, God but this; this
crumbed tongue of hideousness whipped
from iron pants; fatty brains
oozing prematurely from its mashed skull.I thought we had made it.
I thought we knew about lunch.Now we’re talking, but your eyes seek the inner
cheese I can’t hide as my tongue flaps arid
crumbs; feigning homogeny of purpose while a glob
of truth plops like a seagull crap in your latte glass.
2. Night in the know
in a dark gridlock;
clasped fingers squeezing
dead-end doors where buff barmen toss
‘wet kisses’; smirks on ice; tankards of edible flowers
soused in lime…You chucked in a dumpling restaurant’s wheelie bin.
3. Into Sedonia
Our neighbour flapped; a flippered beauty queen just crowned, ‘Did you
hear? They’re opening a sourdough bakery! How much better
can Seddon get?’ I didn’t know. I was a disingenuous prat without a lifestyle.
She looked around, ‘I couldn’t afford to buy here now!’
Stuck togetherby direction, we passed that quirky hovel of right-on retro; selling
cotton toys, organic jewellery, rusty bikes, ironic
lamps; plaster cockatoos on wood from the dump; priced: exotic, stilts from
Campbell’s tomato soup cans. Pock-marked signs of rail routes west…
‘I love this shop! I’ll just have a quick look!’ She said.I stuffed my muffin from the wrong oven and followed her in
to button-eyes and 50s patterns, just right tops and skirts that said I am, I am, I am, I
picked a ring from the jarring cabinet; should have been smashed glass from heists
stuck up with glue from grandma’s kit… But that wouldn’t stand.
It was nice. How much? Your money and your life…‘I love those cockatoos,’ she said. It was too much; my head went spare.
‘Oh! Why don’t you buy one, then? It would look great upon a dresser.’
Something wasn’t right; the walls
took a look and hid their eyes. Better dash before the milk goes sour on my step…
Too late. Too late, the crocheted maiden cried.
- 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