Thursday, July 22, 2010

people having fun downstairs

or is it upstairs, i can't tell through the earplugs.

they fall over each other laughing as they come home, voices echoing up the crazy-paved stairwell - what i reckon, yeah i reckon ...

belting out the words to their favourite songs, one after the other until somehow sleep takes them. i can't remember the last time i did that.

Monday, July 19, 2010

train river, car river, river river

i nearly clip a pedestrian as i come out into Kerr Street tucking fingers into mitten-tops and thinking: did I take my asthma spray? Am I masking early-onset alzheimers if I find a trick to remind me of this twice a day?

Weaving around construction workers and a splattered takeaway coffee at the ICI roundabout, hard right onto napier past the soccer field in the shadow of the commission flats. The first stretch of green for the morning. Everything is singing after the rain.

Through the hospital sector, orderlies unloading cardboard boxes while the fitzroy gardens shine orderly on the right.

Leaving the injured behind. Overtaking the human racehorses training in full-body onesies at the G while baby grand pianos go out of tune in front windows, underneath chandeliers, behind hedges.

Up up on top of the train river, over the car river where once a fox followed me home in the dead of night. And then, the river river. A reporter with noosed scarf warms her hands while the camaraman sets up a shot of the city.

That’s definitely a peacock calling from the botanic gardens … scooby doo and his gang would be huddled on this hill in their mystery machine punching cones and summoning the guts to leap the fence if they could only find a goddamn park amid the champagne-coloured cars.

A wedge of fawkner park appears before the wedge heels, knee-high boots and soft ponytails of south yarra.

And then I’m at work. Flanked the whole time by green. Uphill to go home, but then it’s all downhill from there.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

at tiamo, in our 30s

'are you seeing anyone at the moment?'

'yeah, my counsellor. she's awesome.'

'cool. i found a new naturopath in northcote, she's amazing.'

Sunday, July 11, 2010

meals on wheels

sixty-nine years, we've been married. if he went, i'd be ok. i don't know what he'd do without me though. a couple of weeks ago i just thought ... i've cooked every single meal, every day, breakfast, lunch, dinner. for other people, for 69 years. well i'm sick of it. someone else can do it. meals on wheels or something.

Thursday, July 8, 2010