American Memories, Melbourne
(not quite after Hope Mirrlees)
I want a panorama
SOUTH - WEST
CACAO BLOOKER
GOG & MAGOG
green art deco bakelite in the national gallery
FITZROY (ST ASPEN SHIRAZ)
BRUNSWICK (SQUAWKING MAGPIE SAUVIGNON BLANC)
PARLIAMENTARY MUSEUM (HAZELGROVE PINOT NOIR)
creak chug creak chug creak chug under Princes Bridge on the Yarra
CASTLEMAINE ROCK
Greek woman tearing the gig posters from the lightpole
outside her son’s bar
Going down Madam ?
follow the commemorative brass plaques in the footpath
a golden mile must be almost two kilometres
ne rien faire walk slowly doing nothing
for approximately two hours
WARAKURNA ARTISTS at Alcaston Gallery in Fitzroy until Saturday
discover why Melbourne is called ‘marvellous’
a grey mouse running through green & purple wisteria vines
TIN BOX BUILDINGS
attached to creaking weatherboard cottages
the awful HARD art of the minimal
strikes here and
strikes again in Montréal, actually strikes TWICE in Montréal
at the Museum of Contemporary Art and at the Musée des Beaux Arts
too !
DUCRAY ICTYANE
créme émolliente hydratante blow wind blow
buy Magic Gloves at Dollarama
red wine and voodoo at RUBIS ROUGE
in the USA public toilets flush automatically which can be alarming
all announcers have Spanish accents
the L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E poetry is really realism
Ron Silliman’s VOG is Voice Over Guy, Voice Of God, Very Ordinary Glory
Vital Organs Grim …
on the SILVER STAR 91
from Philadelphia Pennysylvania to Richmond Virginia
(Dixie Hummingbirds, Cab Calloway, Ruth Brown, Amos Milburn)
the suitcase keys
are in
the alternative medicine pill bottle
GREAT DISMAL SWAMP
Henry ‘Box’ Brown
mailed himself to freedom
in a big box labelled ‘Dry Goods’ - from Virginia to Philadelphia in 1849
on the NORTHEAST REGIONAL 94
from Richmond Virginia to Washington District Columbia
(Elizabeth Cotten, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye)
innumerable Stars & Stripes innumerable
Famous American Female Poet :
‘What you might need to know is that you might not make it
But if you do, you might have needed an astrolabe
or a two-bit smile or smirk, this is a style
that could get you a cup of coffee’
AMERICAN coffee ??
old worms in the woodwork
old hooks on the hat rack
old bottomless cups depleted
TIPPING drives me crazy -
quoted price
+Value Added Tax
+15%
bring a pocket calculator
As Portentous As The Opening Chords Of A Big Bob Dylan Ballad
the prescience of the dead
Yours truly, Your paranormal host,
Adelaide
hooray at last here’s the panorama coming up now
discover all the charms of ELEGANT and CONTEMPORARY
melbourne
cross the west gate bridge for AMAZING city views
observe the yarra river's BUSTLING ACTIVITY
see queen victoria market, fitzroy gardens
and albert park, home to the australian formula one grand prix.
visit the HISTORIC shrine of remembrance
stroll along southbank's waterfront precinct
this city has it ALL - discover it for yourself
pour boire, merci, thank you, tip
taxi to lax
KOONS RUSCHA CHEECH the CHICANO
JaMaiCan LeMoNaDe woo you never know
HeY HeY VLaMinCK !
Maurice Vlaminck’s portrait in oilpaint of Guillaume Apollinaire
white women smiling into the air
Michael Jackson and his monkey
NO POETRY MEETING TODAY - EVERYONE IS WORKING
greasy screen at the mex internet café grill
too dangerous
to walk south
down the SAN DIEGO freeway
Almost Completely Finished With Pop Art Finally
call the paramedics
American Memories, Melbourne - the quote from the ‘Famous American Female Poet’ is from Above The Leaders byAlice Notley (Veer Books, 2008)
About the influence - Hope Mirrlees - http://hopemirrlees.com/2009/paris-a-poem/
(First published in Southerly 69.3 (2009))
©Pam Brown |
