Did get a bit confused here Andrew in the first three lines Jan o
Jan in a cheesecloth dress
a bikie on his Harley with a club foot and torn leathers
a bloke in a dress??does not sound like America??
What is the bleed here from the bulb is that to do with poppies or bikes
Best your ignoranter friend Patrick
-----Original Message-----
From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of andrew burke
Sent: 18 April 2007 05:47
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: pseudo-snap: Quininup
today I remember the smell of opium poppy by the rough hewn house
Jan in a cheesecloth dress
a bikie on his Harley with a club foot and torn leathers
I was a young blade
escaping the air-conditioned city
the morning sun shone through Jan's skirt
the bikie scuffed the dirt with his well-heeled boot
today the Bamboo Curtain parts and I'm in China
the USA occupation of Iraq continues
in the People's Republic news settles behind closed doors
and the handicapped fend for themselves
the poppy bulb bobbles in the breeze
here smog fills the daily news of Western conversation
war and peace, black and white, sweet and sour
Jan bends to place her daughter down
two nipples make their point in the morning sun
five bikies idling off the beaten track
jarrah forest curtains the wooden shack
we remain pleasant but not encouraging
my toddler son shields his face from the sun and stares
Greg holds his enfant daughter on his hip and talks
Jan shifts her shadow puppet legs
a hog roars
and the faithful stand and kick their engines into life
in our relief we wave too long
now Jan lifts Melissa into the air
and whirls about singing 'Wheeeee!'
dust settles on the track
Greg bends down with a razor blade to the poppy
and says to me 'Watch this'
I drop to my haunches beside him
he cuts in fine downward strokes
close together and the bulb bleeds
he has a little plastic cup in his hand
'in case I need it' he says
the bleed is weeping in the sun
I stand and look toward his handmade house
Jan waves a pot out the doorway: 'Coffee?'
I say 'pseudo' because I've been working on it for a couple of days,
so it is not a true snap, and I still haven't settled on a 'final'
version, so I would like your feedback.
--
Andrew
http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
http://www.inblogs.net/hispirits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aburke/
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