Next (Lizz Murphy)

xray 3.1

 

Spent eggshells What did I buy with them
Google auto-complete says poems by
language By what else would they be
Restore sight the hollows the eyes sit in He 
posts photos of small calves in long grass  
and I don’t know how to describe them  
star bright in the scrub Shining of new life  
and simple instinct Sometimes what I do  
next is not the next thing at all but the  
thing I did before or before I never  burnt 
my bra though did you? They say  it’s a  
misquote Secret ballots killer blows
gender cards prime minister doors  
swinging Alas a lass by any name less and  
lesser the thread of the narrative caught  
on the scratchy nail of the 1950s In the
21st century there are girls a-teeter retro
stilettos holding the hands of men just to
exit a stage or mount a pavement Their
lumpen gait their hammer toes their short
term torsos Hard to shinny up ladders to
reach glass ceilings I wish I was only an old
Libber
the embers of my 32B undimming 


Lizz Murphy has published 12 books. Her seven poetry titles include Portraits and Six Hundred Dollars (PressPress), Walk the Wildly (Picaro Press), Stop Your Cryin (Island) and Two Lips Went Shopping (Spinifex Press: print & e-book). Lizz’ public art project Poetry: The Indelible Stencil – in partnership with Southern Tablelands Arts (STARTS) – is gradually coming together. Her awards include the Rosemary Dobson Poetry Prize (co-winner 2011). She lives in Binalong NSW.