Sonnets
by Terence Jaensch
by Terence Jaensch
Oz
61.6% Yes and 38.4% No
— Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
he the great & powerful he the big
nod-nod he the smile re-drawn like curtain
over rod he the big yeah no ah um
he the big so-so say-so the skew-whiff
hug the iffy sum of love is love is
love he the un-god god the getter of
got the job done & to the letter of
he & he alone he all wishes is
if all wishing’s aim is yeah no for one
brain heart home & he the shiz if the shiz
is technicolour turned sepia gone
wan & evermore kansas he answers
he & his under un-somewhere not yon
a great roaring yawn he is more & less
Out
Who will change? The gay son or the straight parents?
The homosexual or the homophobe?
— Kenji Yoshino, Covering
during a test at low-power safety
measures were ignored & as air entered
core moderating materials burned
through at high temperature leading to
a consequent & categorical
release a paroxysm of worst fears
radiating out into atmosphere
exposure to low or residual
levels of fallout over limited
time is tolerable though animals
& leaves in the exclusion zone have changed
shape evacuees return at peril
to the rusted-fast dodgem of childhood
to biohazardous material
Found poem – text taken from
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/chernobyl/faqs
Ode To a Toilet
Cruising is not just about participation in a sexual experience; it is an act
that promulgates a unique cultural practice necessary for the survival of
the culture as a whole.
— Alex Espinoza, Cruising
you my first | i remember rushing in |
a frenzy of terrazzo | unsaddled
porcelain | naively white & wet behind
the ears | oblivious until sitting
to the meet me here for a good time calls |
to the heft of my own longing | a door
off its hinges almost | tissue on floor |
& stall partitions a kind of babel
in aggregate | a confusion i found
an iris in & instinctively stood
for | & stood for & stood for | unadorned
a dispenser with its tongue out | from bonds
tee down taken in | by the eye improved
i grew | overfond | into my surrounds
Omertà
And we didn’t hide our true selves just from our parents.
As best we could, we hid the truth from everyone, especially from other children.
— Alan Downs, The Velvet Rage
... skin will be rent from both our backs tomorrow.
— Terence Jaensch, Tim
cleave self from self | if interrogated
you do not know what an overlocker
is | the clothes you made unmake | decry hair
home-perm kit | hole in ear a right v left
mess closed over | dissemble (look it up
& learn) | look here | there | at them but not
long at any one | specially not
tim | swallow pride | talk footy (shop) throw up
into mouth later | conjure girlfriend from
thin air | make real | think tim leaning into
thin air (this will convince most of all) | uncross
legs | cross self as rule book says | swear to
heaven pink is blue & if it comes down
to it | this | you’ve never been to me (you)
Omo & Johnny Forever!!!
A laundrette as big as The Ritz, oh yes.
— Hanif Kureishi, My Beautiful Laundrette
umm | just watch | i’m shaking | this film is | *brain
explodes* | everything | i’m not joking | i
still live on the street where the laundrette is | *sighs*
was | thirty years later | my first neon
sign | omar & johnny getting it on
licking necks | sharing spit | twisting the tits
of the system | o & j bringing it
showing them washing machines who’s boss | &
at the rise of epidemic *coughs* | that
must have taken some *rolls eyes dreamily*
bollocks | *thinks* | a promising subject that
for thesis | omg seriously
gay men setting up shop not dying at
the end | *fanning* | how hot is this movie?
Found poem – text taken from My Beautiful Laundrette YouTube clips’ comment sections.
Italicised text paraphrased dialogue from My Beautiful Laundrette movie.
61.6% Yes and 38.4% No
— Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
he the great & powerful he the big
nod-nod he the smile re-drawn like curtain
over rod he the big yeah no ah um
he the big so-so say-so the skew-whiff
hug the iffy sum of love is love is
love he the un-god god the getter of
got the job done & to the letter of
he & he alone he all wishes is
if all wishing’s aim is yeah no for one
brain heart home & he the shiz if the shiz
is technicolour turned sepia gone
wan & evermore kansas he answers
he & his under un-somewhere not yon
a great roaring yawn he is more & less
Out
Who will change? The gay son or the straight parents?
The homosexual or the homophobe?
— Kenji Yoshino, Covering
during a test at low-power safety
measures were ignored & as air entered
core moderating materials burned
through at high temperature leading to
a consequent & categorical
release a paroxysm of worst fears
radiating out into atmosphere
exposure to low or residual
levels of fallout over limited
time is tolerable though animals
& leaves in the exclusion zone have changed
shape evacuees return at peril
to the rusted-fast dodgem of childhood
to biohazardous material
Found poem – text taken from
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/chernobyl/faqs
Ode To a Toilet
Cruising is not just about participation in a sexual experience; it is an act
that promulgates a unique cultural practice necessary for the survival of
the culture as a whole.
— Alex Espinoza, Cruising
you my first | i remember rushing in |
a frenzy of terrazzo | unsaddled
porcelain | naively white & wet behind
the ears | oblivious until sitting
to the meet me here for a good time calls |
to the heft of my own longing | a door
off its hinges almost | tissue on floor |
& stall partitions a kind of babel
in aggregate | a confusion i found
an iris in & instinctively stood
for | & stood for & stood for | unadorned
a dispenser with its tongue out | from bonds
tee down taken in | by the eye improved
i grew | overfond | into my surrounds
Omertà
And we didn’t hide our true selves just from our parents.
As best we could, we hid the truth from everyone, especially from other children.
— Alan Downs, The Velvet Rage
... skin will be rent from both our backs tomorrow.
— Terence Jaensch, Tim
cleave self from self | if interrogated
you do not know what an overlocker
is | the clothes you made unmake | decry hair
home-perm kit | hole in ear a right v left
mess closed over | dissemble (look it up
& learn) | look here | there | at them but not
long at any one | specially not
tim | swallow pride | talk footy (shop) throw up
into mouth later | conjure girlfriend from
thin air | make real | think tim leaning into
thin air (this will convince most of all) | uncross
legs | cross self as rule book says | swear to
heaven pink is blue & if it comes down
to it | this | you’ve never been to me (you)
Omo & Johnny Forever!!!
A laundrette as big as The Ritz, oh yes.
— Hanif Kureishi, My Beautiful Laundrette
umm | just watch | i’m shaking | this film is | *brain
explodes* | everything | i’m not joking | i
still live on the street where the laundrette is | *sighs*
was | thirty years later | my first neon
sign | omar & johnny getting it on
licking necks | sharing spit | twisting the tits
of the system | o & j bringing it
showing them washing machines who’s boss | &
at the rise of epidemic *coughs* | that
must have taken some *rolls eyes dreamily*
bollocks | *thinks* | a promising subject that
for thesis | omg seriously
gay men setting up shop not dying at
the end | *fanning* | how hot is this movie?
Found poem – text taken from My Beautiful Laundrette YouTube clips’ comment sections.
Italicised text paraphrased dialogue from My Beautiful Laundrette movie.