my week has been
a blast into the past
a fast drive past
the big ram
the dog on the tucker box
the schizophrenic city
ned kelly's last stand.
a zoom down the hume
strewn
with roadside tombs
and splattered wildlife.
past the sign that says
sorry, this is melbourne.
the polite polis apologises for its being.
and me
a has-been melbournian
coming home again
driving through months and years and decades~
to find carlton cappuccino coffee comfort
and the continuing cavalcade of
manicured madonnas marching the streets
pursued by battallions of italian stallions.
to find brunswick street eating itself,
belching and farting art
consumed in its own self-importtance.
to find the same faces in the same places in the same spaces.
to find lovers that once sucked and bit and kissed and licked
sitting
sipping tea politely
across cafe tables
discussing art
and their latest big relationship.
to find myself answering the same question
to each family member i met
yes i'm living in sydney now
yes my work is going well
yes the kids are growing
and no it's not time i cut my hair.

to find you can't dwell too long in the past
to find it was time to drive back to my work, my life,~
my wife, the kids and the mortgage.
time to return to the present
so iheaded towards the sign that said
this way to sydney
knowing that in future
i'll know where to find my past.

13/5/93

by Kupful