That old new saying
When in Spain, do as the Spaniels do. A bushis handy with two birds. But not worth it.All roads lead to Spaniels. Then spin even further.They're better than a poke in the ear with a dry frog.
You can't have your cake if it's eaten. Or your cookedgoose if it's no good for a gander. Golden eggsare useless in a fragile economy. And what goes upmust keep going. Money is rooted.
A friend is a dog breed when he's in needof a mean deed. You can't judge a coverby the book: you need thorn-coloured glasses.It's like comparing ovaries with underwear.
The world's your oyster shell when all'ssaid and dun-coloured. There's no placelike homeotherapy and people in glassparachutes should let bygones be biplanes.
–Paul Mitchell
Diogenes
Oh to be a dogIgnoring urbanityAnd only barkingYet truth, wisdom and knowing concomitant
Even in the dayTrying to find an honest face needs a lamp
But are you also blindedBy other's affectation?
With human abandonmentYou are still a glutton;Casting away your clothes and austerityOnly transcendence
The leg cocked and all the restTaking from the front pocket with a knifeOr the back pocket while seemingly invisible —Is there virtue in throwing shards instead of holding the mirror?
Are they listening while you are naked?Or have they heard betterWith the emperor's new clothes?
There was a gatheringThough you had been exiledOf hands outstretchedWondering when you would ever come in from the cold
–Kerry Ridgway
Impulse upon rising
I will wear this day like a garment,I will draw it upon my spirit reverently.Abroad within it, I will bear witness to the bright dash of birds,the diligence of spidersand the devotion of animals.I will absorb myselfin the visions and voyages of peopleas we rediscover the Indies in each other, the slavery, the music,the flogging, the ropes of hold,the flights of mind,the trudging in darkness. I will bear witness to blindness,I will feel the unfeelingand trumpet the epiphany.I will affirm the muscularity of love,the assertiveness of hope,the relief of laughter.And when night comesI will shed this day like a skinand disappear into the etherin the hope of finding another.
–John Upton
Paul Mitchell's most recent books are Dodging the Bull (short fiction) and Awake Despite the Hour (poetry). His journalism has appeared in The Age, Griffith Review, Meanjin, crikey and The Big Issue.
Kerry Ridgway is a Melburnian who enjoys writing articles and poetry. She has written a book and screenplay, and enjoys writing