La fleur du mal
Philip Porter (University of Sydney, Australia)
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Hard-eyed glare of dyed blond granny-tartlet
misses its mark, lost in her target’s foggy concentration
to stay upright, uptight but loose-arsed. Robotic dreaminess
protects this tall-stemmed poppy from collapse or swan-necked
weeping. Watercolour petals almost veil
the modesty of her labia-purple heart, forever
overwhelmed by beauty that fades between memory,
fantasy, the haze of crystal meth.
She fences the air with artless stabs
parries her own blows, skewers herself
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Philip is about to complete his MA in creative writing at Sydney University. He has been published in Eucalypt (Australia), Blue Collar Review (USA) and the online Zen magazine, TheZenSite. Recently his poem, “Cathusian Silence” was put to music by composer Owen Salome and performed as part of Chronology Arts’ Lyrebird project. As a follow up to his stint as “poet in residence” under the aegis of Australian Poetry Philip organises a community poetry project in a Sydney cafe featuring established and up and coming poets.