Kristen de Kline #171 Distance

I

a whole country
between
us

is not
enough


II

I soaked up old Sydney town
that whore, she gobbled me

whole
 
a solar panel glitters in the sky
Redfern Chippendale Newtown

down at Circular Quay, sea spray 
flirts with the side of my face

a man painted in silver, corpse-like
collects coins in a fisherman's hat

again   I can    breathe 

again


III

in roof-top bars and lane ways
prawn laksa, cold pints of Stella on tap

hit and run kisses
fleeing in the night air

lip-stick prints
on a Jeststar boarding pass

can I miss my plane

do I have to come
down


IV

an entire country

is not far enough

away