 |
 |
Pretty intriguing piece, and enjoyable to read, Bill. Thanks! On Tue, Dec 1, 2015 at 2:40 PM, Bill Wootton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > (or) Two doors, six rats > > You could do that then. > In permanent blue felt tip, > ex-schoolgirl swim champ Sharon > wrote out Ginsberg's Howl on the door > of the salmon kitchen cupboard > in our share house in Heidelberg > and when it wouldn't all > fit, she used the inside of the cupboard > and the final stanza even leaked > on to the laminex bench top next to the sink. > No, hang on, it was America, the one > with the line asking when he'd be able to buy > what he wanted from supermarkets > with his good looks. > > Found five dead rats while decommissioning > a spa in our new house this morning. Hollow > sockets for eyes, whip-long tails, time-holes > in their jaws, requiring prising off > the old floorboards where they'd stuck. > > Sharon had been bequeathed a white Valiant > so for the first time we had a car parked > in our cracked concrete driveway. > We could shop in the suburbs. > And drive to parties. > One night I didn't feel like it > when I got there, Punt Road pizza > curdling in my guts, so I asked Sharon > for the keys to sit it out in the car. > You could do that then. > > I poked my nose in from time to time > but Sharon was enjoying herself, > adopting the right combination of cynicism > and celebration which I could never pull off. > Do you mind if I head off, is what > I remember asking, seeing she had heaps > of friends there to give her a lift home. > So I scarpered, drove home and conked. > > Can't remember which I heard first: > the yelling: 'Hey, bastard,' or the sound > of my bedroom door being kicked. > All know is it went on for a bit > so I got up, locked the door > (I slept in the old lounge room > which had a key for some reason) > and went back to bed. > > Next day she was still dark on me. > Turned out she'd had to score a lift home > with some creep, after thinking > her car had been stolen. > Thud! Thud! She really gave that door > a workout. I'd never experienced naked > emotion outside the family. > > Went on to a singing career, Sharon. > Heard her on my Corolla radio years later. > First single was a smash. Spanish Seas. > Second stalled but she was on the rise again > with her third when cancer clubbed her. > Dead at 52; famous husband, kids. > > Rats went out in the bin, along with broken > slate levered off walls and floors. > Should we polish the floorboards? > How come, Sharon once asked, > everybody we know is fucked? > You could say that then. > > bw >