Sunday, December 03, 2006

Xmas





the rolling whale’s-eye
of the Farmers’ Santa
in its transplanted state
Queen St / Victoria
St corner

eyes fixed on your phone
– can I sit here?
– our bus is coming in 5 minutes, mate
– time to finish
up my smoke

plugged in – the Asian girl
cocks her head to one side
as if listening for it
for what? invisible
the sentence of her life


(21/11/06)

3 comments:

Richard said...

Jack - I love that santa - I remember it on Farmers - your poem is a cryptic and typical enigmatic Rossism (I would guess part of your "Auckland" saga) - but you spend too much time in that wicked centre of Auckland - you should come out to the suburbs (it is real out here) - I personaly have no need to go outside Panmure except to see my grandson or to play in chess tournament or go to my chess clubs.

BTW I couldn't get to that film on Saturday - other matters pressing. I was very interested in Gabriel's comments on your book (and his other essays) - I accordingly have moved your book onto the "soon to be read pile" ... my reading is - to explain somewhat why I havent devoured your tome (I haven't devoured many many peoples' books also) - rather errattic - yours erotic (ha ha!) (sorry!) - I mean I start some book and move to another (often because of a reference in the original book so this process is theoreticaly infinite!) - I feel perhaps you do similarly but have more method in your madness than I...

As an example - I once began "In Patagonia" only to read something like - "the countryside was very Chekovian" which made me realise to my bitter chagrin I hadn't read any Chekov (or Tchekov - what you will) - so I have now read almost all of his plays and many of his stories but not "In Patagonia"!

Dr Jack Ross said...

It's great to know that you're out there in cyberspace, Richard, reading all of our posts and writing these long considered responses ... actually I don't spend all that much time in the wicked centre: much more is spent mooning around the Shore, which has its own brand of wickedness, I fear. Looking forward to seeing your book sometime soon.

Richard said...

Thanks Jack - be seeing you tommorow I thnk - in the wicked centre! I hope my book comes out soon - thans for your interest. Brief looks good as far as I can see it.

The more I look at that Santa the more it affects me - that is a good shot - of course there are the memories of taking my children there and myself many years ago -also it reminds me of something by Jeff Koons and it was an image in a Science Fiction book which I read (my ex-wife had borrowed if from the library) about 1987 and it absorbed me - somwhere one earth was dying and the protagonist got to another world at the end - I dont know who wrote it or even what it was all about - in it there was a castle and in that there was giant santa - now that is where my giant Santa in 'Chains' comes from - it was an eerie image and strange and fascinating book but I cant recall what it was all about etc I liked it a lot - (you have an interest in Sci Fi - does it ring a bell?) - I know not really (quite) what signifying (no images or symbols where none intended) ..hmmm...