What is going to be different this winter?
When vests are still in fashion
and I forget my hat
but remember my tie
that was how many years ago?
And it’s the same long feet
the same fake nose
the same peep-holes
the same tired green rows.
But at least no houses are on fire
and the pub
still has the same cider
though for a brief moment there, there was fear in the air.
And at work I still find the spiders and
and at work under the desk I still find the crunchy boogers and
and the roaches still run laps of the coffee cup rim and
and the cat
still looks the other way
while it licks its arse and
and manicured dreadlocks are still in vogue while
while the same old vampires jump me
and the buses go on strike
and the cops still fish the odd body from the lake.
But the Werewolf remains missing
I flick through these blocked pages
where is the Werewolf?
— But it doesn’t matter ‘cause they don’t distribute very far —
And at least no houses are on fire
and the pub
still has the same cider
though for a brief moment there, there was fear in the air
and it’s the same long feet
the same fake nose
the same peep-holes
the same tired green rows.
And the placeholders are the same
the plastic is the same
the printed words are the same
so the orders have to be
have to be
the same
the same chairs are on the floors
that are the same
these tiles are
they are the same
under this roof
that is the same
these pictures are
basically
the same
these letters are
they are the same
this meat pie, it is the same
this brick road, the same
dirty awning, the same
the same one too many anti- biotics the same
because Canberra
it is the same.
And so what?
What am I going to do different this winter?
What am I doing different this winter?
This winter,
what this winter’s different?
What this winter keeps me here?
Only one thing has me here
and has that changed a little
and changed me a little
and got me through more than one winter?
What’s different about this winter
this winter
with the same old old Vampires
the same missing missing Werewolf
the same roaches rim running?
Nothing, nothing is different this winter.
It is the same as last winter, the same.
But at least no houses are on fire
and the pub
still has the same cider
though for a brief moment there, there was fear in the air
and it’s the same long feet
the same fake nose
the same peep-holes
the same tired green rows.
