Michael Farrell enjambment sisters present

Black Rider presents Lyrics 4
Michael
Farrell
enjambment sisters
present
Michael Farrell
books
open sesame (Giramondo 2012)
a raiders guide (Giramondo 2008)
BREAK ME OUCH (3 Deep 2006)
ode ode (Salt 2002)
chapbooks
thou sand (Tinfish 2011)
thempark (Book Thug 2010)
whale diary (Merrijig 1997)
as editor (with Jill Jones)
Out of the Box: Contemporary Australian
Gay and Lesbian Poets (Puncher and Wattmann 2009)
contact Michael: [email protected]
Black Rider presents Lyrics 4
First published 2012 by Black Rider Press.
Copyright © Michael Farrell 2012
Cover photo by Agan Harahap
All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-1-61979-294-4 (ebk)
Black Rider Press
We publish like thieves in the night
www.blackriderpress.com
Monica Vitti
’
s Muddy Shoe
Oedipus the King
,
-
Hop
1
Hoicking
2
Some Enchanted Odding4
QED
&
Alice5
A Pigtail of Your
,
or Gail
’
s Imagination
6
Co ld, Turnback Time7
Phone I
,
Eve8
Bullock
-
proof9
Schopenhauer
,
Ford
10
Dr Prankenstein Meet Dr Crankenstein
11
Monica Vitti
’
s Muddy Shoe
-
Hop
Would you
Like to
Go to
‘ Moni
- ca Vi
- tti
’ s muddy
Shoe
- hop
1
Oedipus the King
,
Hoicking
… sto
- nes into
The fu
- tur
- e
Hitting Australia
, killing my father
There ’ s a world outside the theatr
- e , an imaginary world of black
Skies , of grey moons
Where galleries
Are hieroglyphic vaults
& Beckett pores over Sophocles
… here
, I remember
Is the librar
- y
… here
, I remember
Is the librar
- y
I
Follo
- w facts with o
- pinions so
You
Think it ’ s what I
Think
We imported blondes later
As a counter
- point
Of all
The ‘ ism
s ’ , ‘Imperial
- ism
’ sounds the finest
2
Roots of the
Ancient tongue
Unre
- adable dictionarie
- s , compe
- te on the
Free
Market
My family
( Cre
- on , Eury
- di
- ce
, Poly
- ni
- ce
- s
, Anti
- gone
) loved to watch M
*
A
*
S
*
H
3
Some Enchanted Odding
YO
-
u lead your cO
untry like an O
wl
Detecting bravehearts
FO
-
llO
w the beeped lO
O
se ‘ e
CO
-
me enchanted O
dding , this is O
nly the first date
There are 00s ahead
:
like eyes all iris
What ’ s in the backgrO
- und ? What ’ s underlined
Reading pO
- ems O
- verhead , as if frO
- m a helicO
- pter fO
- untain – O
- ne that ’ s O
- pen O
- n a mO
- untain O
- f bO
- Oks
There ’ s fO
- g O
- f cO
- urse , and sO
- me yO
- ung man we O
- nly knO
- w by his nickname
- raging
,
fO
4
QED
&
Alice
With ha
- lf friends like these
Who nee s
Fleas
I want to climb ha
- lf an a
- lpa
- ca
Won
Re
-
’
t you be
al ha
lf nice to me
They said her name was ha
- lf a melody
, but she
Said , right
, more like
One third melodr
- ama
The answer was ha
- lf right : he
Did lea
- ve the
ha
- m on the
Stere
- o , & he
Did marry
The one
He ha
- d ha
- lf a crush on
, and came to ha
- rm , in advance of brahm
Use the yellow one
: it ’ s ha
- lf cle
- an we
Always use the
Yellow one
5
A Pigtail of Your
,
I don ’ t know where I
Live , out of the forest
- nto the Castle
or Gail
,
’
s Imagination
I
Let him out for being bad
When they attacked me , I
Gave them fruit , and when they adored me
Starved them
,
I
Till they fell on the bats with a frenzy
I talk to Gail , I
Say I
don ’ t know where I
Live
This
Took
I
s a memory of three sticks I
n the road , I
the proven , the bloody
We were in the dam
,
talking
,
learning our lines
We I
- magined each word , crushed , forgotten . I
Came around , you were sorry , I
’ d brought flowers . Your son I
- s happy for me ; he I
- s the one they always go to for sympathy . I
Own son , patient for the funeral , doing the arrangements ,
- nstructing the florist , the bank manager , making I
Proud
I
6
Co ld, Turnback Time
Cool
Summ
.
Dial
r
r
Quay fig r
e ; deckchair
ectic
Car
- ved our
Initials deep in the bar
Str
-
ang e voices fr
om the r
adio
What
(
-
do they say ? Things . I car
nt under
stand . Then . & ther
e . I was sor
r
y . Wor
ds are like r
aindr
- ecor
ds , - ainbows ) - ops , they come fr
om Mar
s
If I could r
- each the star
- s
7
Phone I
,
Sewn I ,
Believe
Eve
Eve
There ’ s good , I , Eve
& bad , I , Eve
& never the flibbertigibbet shall meet
I
,
Eve
,
phone them
,
if anything
The major rag dolls of a generation
Believe
Our tongues are in our cheeks
I agree
:
don
They say so much
I
,
,
’
,
are they
t underestimate the underdidact
,
but can
’
t read their own praise
Eve , get wet riding through the park
a civil matter
Stuffed with phone
, comfortable
A basin
,
,
I
,
Eve
an orange
,
a knife and thou
You groan , I , Eve
, must find somewhere for your velveteen
Body , your wispish , Middle English
Hair & the auto - correcting
Sting you reserve for the mongoose
8
Bullock
-
proof
Shinned up
, skinned up
– lookd around
Proud
Of my toread
- or skills
What ’ s on my mind
Tonight
? A skull can
Make me less
A man
; doing is a less
- er
Ser
- en
- ade
Gave my
Body
To the
Earth , long as noone
Comes by
With their spade
: don ’ t
Need
A bunch of strangers singing hy
- mns – don ’ t
Need to tell the
Bush about my
Book
.
.
.
this time
9
Schopenhauer
,
Ford
La la
La la
La la
La nothing is a
Way to start a
Poem
This is not for a view
Of the
Barbe
- cue
: it ’ s for my sister
If any
- one
,
my friend
,
for me
I was brought up an anim
- al – but I
loved Catch 22 . I
Didn ’ t com
- e – am
I there yet ? – to praise fam
- ous , or m
- ean – I
Mean : great m
- en . I
Don ’ t know any . M
- aybe I
- ’ ve got fli
- es in m
- y eye
- s / m
- aybe in m
- y m
- outh / m
- ind from the Chi
- nese bi
- ble
Bla
-
- bla
bla - bla
bla - bla
blame is ok
bla - bla
bla - bla
bla - bla
me is ok
.
Bla
10
Dr Prankenstein Meet Dr Crankenstein
‘ Hi ! Try
This donut made out
Of doll rubber , tarpaper
, and seaweed
. ‘ Hi ! Try
This lethargy made from hopelessness
And sawdust
. ’ ‘ Miraculous
! ’ ‘ I love lethargies , but they make make
My teethache
ache . . . ’ ‘ I
’ ve seen that on television . ’ ‘ Really ?
’
Are you
My loved one?
Can I
Talk to you
This way ? Or must I
Tart words up for poetry heart
- ies , part
- ies , newspaper latt
- e gagas
?
That ’ s no country , that
A map . It doubles as a
Picnic blanket . What a
- bout the ants
?
Sister Harvey intake :
- oh ohh
, ohhh oh
- oh ohh
’
s
Ohhh oh
11