they came by bus,
foot, and taxi,
by pram; the celebrators
happily
in blue sky, oven
-baked caucasians
in sunshine.
a little girl
squatting flat-footed
on the street
outside my apartment
lifts her skirt
pulls her underpants
aside and pisses
on the footpath
before entering
the chapel
while the bells tincture
lingers and fades like
the line of dark urine
dissolving on the concrete.
when I finally locate
the flat keys and exit
with towel, barefooted
on to the hot concrete
church is finishing
and the children
who have had their swimming
costumes underneath
are making the four
block walk to the beach.
cigarettes are cheap
and I have cash work
and a slowed-frozen
glass lozenge
of white spirits
in my shoulder bag,
and a pipe, a 1/2 dozen
hits left, and the plan
to rehearse the audition
monologues
has again
been abandoned
so that now
I know
a particular future
cannot possibly
hold
the spot open
anymore.
but I don’t care, can’t—
won’t, for years, the
beach is pumping
wave crash
makes cool breeze
and sand-sink
to ankles is enough
for many
bathers in their Bondi
bikinis:
bottoms only;
I couldn’t hold
my breath
long enough
to feel anything
future dissolve
on the walk
to the grass
above the beach
where I’d get my bearings
their tan-lined feet
their maculate behinds
crusted with sand
love this too.
great closing image, and what a perfect word in this context – “maculate” .
cheers, mark…“maculate” was by accident, thought I was shortening immaculate, only to find it was ready to use in its own grammatical accuracy.
so did i! and that would have worked too, but this is even better
Thank you, Emjay
Love this. Thanks for sharing. Vivid. A future possibility let go … dissolving.