1. Disarming
From one side of the partition
she looked up
from her tossed salad state
and mineralised water world
put down her implements
and guided him
a disarming smile.
On the other side
of the international cafe
he was diverted
from the impending roast
and wiping red wine
from his generous lips
he mouthed sweet nothings
in retaliation.
Tim Heffernan
2. Looking for a name
Alone on the platform
waiting for the train,
god knows who
I am to be, from place
to place, face to face:
Inner Catastrophe
seeks normal social chat,
and involutes,
and tumbles
into terrible fear.
---------Holy fire, caught in the bush,
I brush your cold white flame.
This night,
say my name,
right into me, ------------again,
for here we are once more,
the prayer of confession,
and returning,
amen —
David Hastie
3. Paris
look at your bird face in the mirror of my hand
under the light of a chandelier
in Paris
watch my marble face
turn to
ribs in the
snow.
David Murcott
4. Part-time job
Salt on those?
Eat here or take away?
As if that refrain wasn't bad enough,
To have to contend with a
Sharp-eyed rodent of dubious intent,
And his heavy-duty partner
In sandwiches and wedlock,
Who reach their climax in praise
At 'That's no good.'
After today
I'm not going back.
A simple resolution,
Like a breath of fresh air.
Heidi Ross
5. Heart remedy
My doctor prescribed
50 grams of dark chocolate
three times a week
for high cholesterol.
Get the fair trade stuff, she suggested.
In the night I fumble
empty packets from the bin,
scribbling surfaces, where my pen
tries to unblock other arteries.
Steve Isham
6. Belonging
In dreams, fish fly over
the mangroves
and speak to me of dominion.
And there are other signs
that I was born out of the womb of this earth:
made up of vegetation, sea, air, dust.
Light rears on its hind legs and claims me.
This is where my skin sheds.
Cassandra O'Loughlin
7. Old men play cards
slap slap king of spades
at the pagoda pavilion
old men not much else
to do huddle here daily
alongside their tall murky
jars of chunky green tea
few get here early enough
to claim cement seats
with cold grey marble
tops others carry fold-
out stools some bring
cushions the remaining
balance their weight in the
Chinese squat sitting
their bums on their heels
Jodie Hawthorn
8. Estate agent's snap
On our first evening in our new house,
empty except for us, we look from
the spacious balcony
towards the green-curving park.
Just like in the estate agent's
photograph, except that nine
black curving overhead wires
are strung from thick poles
slicing through the view.
They seem to have doctored the snap.
Snip.
And so proud of it, they've
mailed us a poster-size
blow-up of their three-snap ad.
I may hang it on the balcony.
Max Richards
9.