PS Cottier

The two items above are the subject of the following poem, written at the Green Shed in Civic, which is a store selling items mainly found at Canberra’s tips.  Late last year, as part of the Design Canberra festival, punters were asked to write a response to objects at the Green Shed.  I was the first to have a go, and set myself a ten minute limit.  Here’s the poem, with just a couple of typos corrected:

Two containers

Black rectangle of leather,
simple silver clasp.  You smell
of clean secrets, of transparent glue,
or a genie addicted to soap.
Gold lettering spells ‘Lodge Elata’
but your elation long fled the bag.
She searches for crumbs, carolling.

Banana jug — cracked as if you were
yourself a punchline  — jagged haha
or an inappropriate smirk,
yellowing a funeral with muted glee.
Three bananas. Two are thick lips,
and one a self-tasting tongue,
enjoying the flavour of milky jokes.

P.S. Cottier

The masonic bag did become transparent after the poem was written, in the sense that I hear that someone stole it from the shop! Not a genie, either.  Or so I suppose.

Thanks to Kaaron Warren for alerting me to this event.

And happy 2016!

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