A Selection of Contemporary Australian Poetry (Week 13)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bad Habits

                                I take the hap
                           of all my deeds.

                           George Meredith Modern Love XX

         2.50 what? The night's at kickback stage.
And if I'm the man heading to LAX
you must be Madison, monument to your sex,
sweet, groomed, worldly and my daughter's age,
with cute, white slivers of k'thwack k'thwack
for hours of bug-eyed frenzy.
                                          Till the chop.
And 'Ken,' I'm hearing, 'reckon we oughta stop,
or name us a worse place for your heart attack.'
         But bad and badder habits hunt in packs:
if y'urge says Go! so y'splurge y'dough
oh ain't that par for one horny CEO
who craves you as his item-to-the-max
(unless, well hardly, you've turned out a narc).
          I queue at 6 with Trans Pacific rabble.
Till then Mmmadison: you straddle, I babble:
bloodshot, out-staring Fox Sports in the dark.

 

Alan Wearne

 

Alan Wearne (1948-) writes ‘For over a decade I have written 35 poems (mainly sonnets) inspired by popular Australian songs. The jaunty retro-sounding early 80s hit Bad Habits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eETES1xP-IM is the jumping off point for this monologue fuelled by (let’s call it) innocent sleaze: before flying to the US a businessman has an escort visit his hotel room…oh dear she’s bringing drugs…’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8N-iMVrNs&feature=youtu.be

 

Comments

[DL]

We're indebted to you, Alan, not only for this fine example of your work but for taking the hap of all your deeds -- and clueing us in on what the poets in Australia are up to these days.