My therapist wants to know if i was breastfed
I have a short attention span and get bored easilyMy Mum yells abuse at me as i’m leaving
for work One morning i move out and livein Granville I cover my balcony with plastic grass
Two pigeons make their nest there green& purple like oil on wet asphalt I have
a short attention span She lays two eggsbehind the milk crates I hold them in my palm like
coins I put them back South Street on Sundaysis a tunnel of chicken smoke Road rules are optional
Cars smash like eggshells His red eyes are goji berriesHe puffs himself up with popcorn & cigarettes
When i stand up too fast he vanishes in a puffof smoke They gather twigs & shit everywhere
they stay Because it is a Safe Place i live inGranville and my barber is probably a drug front
So is that juice place no one ever goes toAt night the stray cats snarl & rip at each other
Making love sounds a lot like a catfightI have a short attention span but some things
i remember all the time like I’m two years oldon the kitchen counter at my parents’ house
and my Mum says You know your Daddy & ilove you very much I’m twenty-three now and
there’s so much i don’t know I try to say Loveand say Loud instead try to say Mum say Mad
instead try to say Mum say Mouth instead and itswallows me whole Family comes out Felony
Safe comes out Scathe Dad comes out DeadThis pigeon is a Big Man My Dad is more pigeon
than man Mum raises her voice and he vanishesin a puff of smoke drives a white van around Sydney
gridlock like an egg stuffed between milk cratesShe gathers coins for her empty nest I grow
old and walk around with fists full of twigs& broken eggshells I slot my hands in
my pockets like coins I don’t know what to dowith them I have four parents Three of them
are pigeons Two are roosting on my balconyOne is a stray cat At night i lock my doors &
windows Some things i can block out but othersi remember all the time like My first word
was Car not Mum or Dad
- 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