Sharing the dog
for Pepper
Sleeping lightly on the sofa lately, I've
had the Pepper-dog beside me, sleeping
soundly on the rug: she, she knows, is keeping
promises, promises that have lasted five
days since she came here this time. I believe
that as she lies there, somehow she feels time creeping —
some inchoate sense, sense of the Grim Reaper reaping
with his scathing scythe, or Father Time with a sieve.
Pepper, O Pepper, the lady dog of Nash Street,
lady dog indeed of Northcote, alas poor grandad
walks and talks to you only when your family,
Jones-Bargh, visits places doggies aren't allowed unleashed, or
places where no welcome is extended,
Pepper, even to lady dogs, places like Brimlea.
–Evan Jones
dog & stick
therell always be an oxford st
with tooth marks somewhere on
its body,
it can be a sweatbox,
a downhill delight.
new media on the tv.
virtual skippy as the parky of poetry,
the vagaries of
easter & anzac day.
we are running on a theme
to do with spirit,
people still live in places
shot to hell & reeled back.
only boys that save their
pennies & shells, interest me,
bondi thunder loosely
sorts the chickens from the saving club.
you are hung,
like that pointy & upsidedown.
robert duncan had a
brave antagonism,
we talk through our phds.
the neighbours hear &
roll their ears.
–Michael Farrell
The standup
We agree to meet up in a busy street
Lots of feet
Marching to the beat
Totally Anonymous
Strangers everywhere
Each one undistinguishable
Coming from all directions
Love and hate colliding
A Traffic of ecstasy
Yet we skirt past one another
Not pausing
Not stopping
Protected under the busy umbrella of the street
Searching and finding
Hiding and seeking
Teardrops falling to be left alone
Left feeling like a dog without a bone
Slowly going home
Wishing the mobile phone would ring a tone
And the virtual stranger
Would mumble a series of excuses
And agree to meet up again in the busy street
Where we would finally meet
–Isabella Fels
Michael Farrell coedited with Jill Jones Out of the Box, Contemporary Australian Gay and Lesbian Poets. He also recently edited an Australian feature for the US-based journal, ecopoetics.
Isabella Fels is a Melbourne poet and writer about sport, relationships, mental illness and everyday life. Her poems have been published in many places including in Positive Words, The Record and the SBS Insight website