The Tram to Wednesday

In the peripheralist sense this tram heads to
Wednesday, the stagecraft of the new emperors
dancing on the headlines of the papers;

a group of politicians in the park
point laughing as we pass, this route
their sample population, the prevailing
social model of action by sequential crises
reflected on the timetable. All of us on board
rehearsing our interviews orrecounting our chores.
11 different perfumes, I tried to count them,
Arden and Miyaki, that snowdome by Gaultier,
scents to hide the intentions of the animal that
has us here, in this politely indifferent flesh,
among the fresh news print.

Stigmata for your semantic sins, says
Mr Speaker and points to the Ministers feet which bleed
(he checks them,a reactive inhibition) and I think we may
be alerted to this liberal conceit of safety by global law
and domination by defeat,but for now, we are fighting over
seats, there is standing room only, a long day at work, our
vision narrowed to the weeks before a festive season relieves
us, and we dance with habitual celebration.

first published in the Age October 2004

Postmodern Ode to Linguistic Pantheists

Some continuous tonus resumes
pulsing across the rooftops.
Preacher has his hand in their
control panel messing with the
configurations: Authoring a new
dissonance he says, -Forcing
something flaccid in the niche,
building a new leg for the stand,
circumcising inertia… his non
prolific face twisting with
pleasure as he said it.

A Clown chokes to death in the
Tudor doorway – 15 years of laughing
and tripping along the boulevards
had worn out his big shoes.

The Book of Obscure Technical Commands

Forever in need of a more graphic fix he succeeded in emailing himself to prison. A pastiche of every filmed atrocity on the television for 5 nights running through burning hedges. As beautiful as that ruined body was he will not give his negatives to the chemist. Gentlemen need the evidence to develop in an instant. They speed by abandoned picnic rest stops where aging umbrella stands have blown off the tables. Manipulating the foregone conclusion borderline – Breaking the rationalism of your brain : the welfare state as a strategic weapon opens its mouth and screams your name.