Category: Love

It was the age of Aquarius
women could and were doing anything
and to blame for nothing –
that was men.
In this case each was
she, for in their face-ing
me, for attagirl-ing.
Melanie from tutorial group
attractive, intelligent, and according to the bush telegraph, single.
Did I want to go to the protest march with her?
Did I what!!!
Mobs –
like atoms –
orbits and nucleus,
common sense would have advised an early exit
self-preservation, before it was too late –
an 18-year-old has neither.

The police had had enough
were in no mood for kid gloves
GET IN THERE…..
At the station the processing officers were grim, severe
and punitive –
you’ve wasted police time and resources –
court tomorrow – with the strongest charge we can bring.
We were all scared shitless
until the duty commander arrived and said,
“ you realise you’ve fucked up my afternoon nap.”

Henry – unusual amongst the utilitarian Johns,
Robs, Toms, Daves, Mikes,
not that he was ever called by that name,
somehow the Y had been amputated from his first
an added to his last –
‘Drakey.’

A favourite pastime: disparaging our teachers
the hierarchy of bastards
their arseholiness’s.
Drakey said –
Campbell had to be excluded,
was disqualified – 
“ because  he’s honest.
He is a prick. We know he’s a prick,
he knows he’s a prick.
We know he knows he’s a prick.
He knows we know he’s a prick,
that
he was good to deal with
had integrity
because,
he didn’t pretend to be anything, except a prick.”

The faithful departed
gone
gone to another workplace
absent, but present
memory skipping beatification to sainthood.

“Pam, ” : how my teeth came to clench,
everytime –
“Pam used to …”
“What Pam did….”
“When Pam…..”

She called in once
on her way south to a school reunion
looked around the kitchen
like God popping in on Earth
checking the tenant wasn’t wrecking the place,
polite, but just out of earshot
I could hear : not in my day.

….. Fiona, Second Cook
ferociously competent,
sternly sensible
soundbite brief – “ something wrong?”
I told her –
constant reference
constant comparison
constant eulogy.
No preamble. No appendix.
No sugar. No fat.
“The food was pretty basic when she was here
it’s much more professional now.”