Sydney Road
By Fury
Edited by Omar Sakr
first
the bridal shops
women and their mothers . . . . . .
threading through them .
tinny ringing of bells .
from doorways .
.
diamantes on the dresses .
winking .
like the girls .
who knew I was (gay .
before I did .
.
cakes .
quilted beaded towering .
the smallest a month’s rent .
certificates of excellence displayed .
as helpful as a most livable city award .
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.
. my friend ana used to live in Brunswick
.
.
. like for me, when I arrived
. here and in Brunswick in
. January 2010 it was very
. much a migrant/poc place. I
. remember having these big
. goggly eyes in the car, being
. driven to the apartment. It felt
. so much more like Brazil/home
. than Perth ever did because it
. was this messy chaotic weird
. place.
.
.
.
. the business signs she remembers now
. peeling faded
. or replaced with the new store’s name in
. proud Helvetica font
.
.
.
.
.
.
. further down
. hope street
.
. stretches west
…………………………… like a scar …………………………..
.
.
. a beacon of horror
. for women who
. glance the mirror by the door in the hall
.
. & for a split second
. see Jill Meagher’s face
.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
cigarettes
.
.
.
.
.
. . . . . like hansel and gretel
.
.
.
trails . . . to corners where
cheeky spews left over from the night before hot from the sun
waft aromatic
.
. . . . . . the penny black brunswick green
.
.
.
.
.
the Retreat
cavernous labyrinthine
empty now, save for a few who did not grace it
the night before
nor witness it
spit men
onto the street
tongues fat with drink
hey hey hey
.
.
.
.
.
. HEY
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.
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do you ha
ve a pus
sy
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i don’t car
e
i just wan
t to kno
w
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. here’s my friend Kylie
. talking about
. the mechanics institute
. and how .
. .
. that carpark behind it .
. is dark .
. .
. especially .
. Saturday after the performance .
. 10 o’clock walking to the car .
. .
. and how .
. i heard them before I saw them . six of them
. white guys working white men .
. .
. and how .
. . . . .
. they .
. surround .
. ded us .
. .
saying . . .
. words .
. i don’t .
.remember .
. . . . . .
.
and how . her girlfriend
: screamed : at them
.
and how .
that’s when . they parted
like combed . hair
.
and how .
after that . every night we asked someone to
walk us to . the car
.
.
.
.
. p.s.
. one time a guy just
. punched Kylie in the face
. while outside her own gig
.
. the police told her
. not to bother
. taking it to court
.
nothing is going to happen
.
.
.
.
.
do you know how much paperwork that would be?
.
.
.
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at best they’ll be given community service
.
.
.
.
.
and she didn’t take it to court because
a punch is one thing
.
.
.
.
.
but after court
.
.
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.
.
her face would be
.
.
.
.
burned into their memory.
.
.
.
.
after this happened, everything changed
. terrified you always re-assess
i no longer go there at night when i go out
people stare all the time i’m on watch
i was used to verbal abuse but
.
now i know
don’t go into the city don’t take public transport
taxi or uber now taxi or uber
.
.
.
p.s kylie is trans
which is important
. cos
i’m assuming
you assumed
.
she wasn’t
.
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anyway
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.
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. further towards town green refectory is packed with
. childless white people like me except……………okay much like me
sporting top knots button downs shaved heads septum piercings
. and other
queer . signifiers that have been
glommed . by the mainstream
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
excuse me while .
i pause to consider the ethics of .
appropriating a signifier .
that, itself, has been appropriated .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. eating smashed avo instead of buying houses that they couldn’t afford
. anyway because the area is ballooning in price pushing
.
. painters unionists dykes fags poets dancers students clubrats anarchists
agitators benders bartenders comedians users novelists lefties socialists
.
. north or west or south or wherever
. isn’t here
.
. these are the ones who
. aren’t at the Auction
. down the way
.
. no
. those are toorak types
. buying a three bedroom house for their
. children to slum it
.
. real estate flag dancing
. out front of
. the house my friend retreated to her room
.
. to fuck a girl for the first time
. slick quivering belly full of hope
.
.
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.
brunswick, listen to me
you are like a microcosm of how
leftie melbourne
sees itself
listen to me listen
to me
listen to me
i am trying to say two things
ONE
it is not enough to hang a rainbow
flag in yr window
stop patting yr damn self
on the back
TWO
i wept
with my whole body
when I saw
all those rainbow fags
hanging out your windows
all of them lined up like voters
whispering my name