Morning fresh, hastily dressed

A new day and they’re out the door

Last night fading away

A bar, a whisper, a kiss

A bite on the arm and wings

Halo slipping off

Angel out the door and away

To carry on their good work

Loving the lost, the lonely

In direct application

Some biting, sure

A few fights

Some string, tight

Perhaps some kneeling

Supplication and submission

Perhaps some shouting

The deal, fair no?

Tell me once more

Your demands

Not just some story, not just some poem

Not an idle twist of words from imagination

But crisp truth pulled together and presented

That story about the girl with the piercing?

That poem about tying the other one up?

That line about dark-eyed hordes?

Those words were true true true

Of course those other ones were true too

The servants made out of candy and my jelly horse

Travelling to the sun and back, charring six good men

The ghost of the robot who lurks downstairs

Before  I met you I lived an extraordinary life

That scar on my hand isn’t from some simple mistake

Those made-up words I use aren’t made up at all

I learned a language in the afternow and fought the hazelburbs

I whilloped well and zambolled most eagerly

I only returned to dally with you a moment

Then it is back to my adventures!

how about this job

and i wasn’t paying attention

because what they really said was

hey, how about trading some of your youth

for things that don’t matter and have never mattered

and never will matter not never ever ever

and so i said yeah, sure, fuck it (that one to myself)

i’ll take the job and turn up every day

i’ll trade my youth for that pile of worthless things

i’ll even appear to be happy about it!

as I trade another day away

another night, another slice of time

i’m happy to give you all that’s mine

(as a cat)

is to purr and chase and get a little warm spot to sleep

ALL that matters!

(as a fish)

is swim in the group and think about architecture

ALL that matters!

(as a building)

is to stand perfectly still so they don’t know you’re alive

ALL that matters!

(as a planet)

is to tease a star but never kiss

ALL that matters!

(as an elf)

is to live in a gumdrop house and invest in the share market

ALL that matters!

(as a jew)

is to make jokes about doctors/lawyers and be a doctor/lawyer

ALL that matters!

(as a particle)

is to steal beer and fuck your best friend’s wife

ALL that matters!

is ALL that matters!

A moment before:

There I am, waiting for James. In my hand is a phone: the peak of technology. In my wallet are credit cards that link to a global banking network with near-instantaneous transmission. Around me are skyscrapers and powerlines filled with electricity and water pipes and the culmination of all human effort and application.

I don’t even turn as she rushes toward me; the streets are crowded and you block everything out.

The bite.

Right shoulder. A meaty right shoulder bulked up by swimming twice a week. She had plenty to sink her teeth into.

A moment after:

There I am, biting and clawing. My phone is broken on the ground. My wallet is gone, dropped somewhere as I bolted down King street. I have meat in my mouth. Around me are people falling from skyscrapers. The powerlines are dead. The culmination of all human effort and application is toppling in a slow fall.

I swallow my mouthful of meat and continue to run.

No, that’s not right.

I swallow my mouthful of meat and continue to chase.

There really needs to be a real estate agent review system. I can’t find a really good one for Australia. I’ve rented since 1998 and most of my agents have been terrible incompetent morons. But there is no centralised review system so no one ever knows.

Making money on eBooks is great! You forget work so easily. Forget all those hours and struggle. Soon it feels like you’re making money for nothing.

On writing and publishing – just start. This is damn near the only profession where others will piss on you at the start. They’ll tell you how hard it is. How it is such a fucking struggle. You’ll never make it blah blah. Turn up to learn Karate and they’ll teach you. Turn up to learn how to swim and they’ll teach you. Turn up to learn practically anything else and they’ll teach you and not piss down the struggle of writing. So… just start.

Having an emergency fund is a brilliant idea. I completely agree with “if you have no emergency fund, you already have an emergency”. I started one last year and then blammo, right before Christmas my car needed $1550 of repairs. We’re talking the week before Christmas. I had the money in an emergency fund so I was fine. If this had been last year then I would have either had to stay at home over Christmas or whacked a great blob of money on my credit card.

Being hungry can lead to being angry. Eat.

You are buffeted by moods and your energy level rises and falls and sometimes you have no idea why. While some of this is a mystery, other bits aren’t. For example: get good sleep, exercise, spend time with people.

“the Sun has been most reluctant to journey” she said
adding that “when they were young they travelled everywhere together”
she was here to enlist my help
(as i’ve counselled many an astral body)

(and kissed many an astral body)

i gave the standard guarantees
lies flying with angel velocity
and she left in a blister of oily light
petals n all disappeared

immediately i got the Sun on the phone
and told him to watch out for former friends urging change
the Sun chuckled at my worry
did i not know the Sun would never leave the great love it had found?

i hung up the phone, reassured a little but worried more
the Sun talks of great love but so does everyone when they are in love
recent conversations flickered back to me
the Sun complaining about this and that, most worryingly

i briefly considered hiding the Sun’s keys to hinder any getaway
dreamed of a mad short-term kidnapping
plotted a Vegas wedding and a fake pregnancy if required
drew a big circle and little circle on paper surrounded by a broken heart

a flash of light struck me then
for a moment i thought the Sun had come to take back Tupperware
but it was a bright idea instead
the Tupperware gets to stay

immediately i rang Joe and told him of the Sun’s sister
described curves and eyes and delicate earlobes
it was the ankle bracelet that closed the deal
and he said he’d call her tonight

never have i hoped so much for a phone conversation to go well
for laughing and flirting and whispers and connection
then the Sun’s sister can stay, tied by golden string to Joe
and we can all go out,
bright light, petals, oil and shimmering love