Liam Ferney: Seoul Survivor

my saison en enfer & the get rich schemes
evaporate like colonial best intentions
or foraging all over town for Vegemite.

the prospectus of delight was a myth
similar in scope to the lone gunman theory
or the story of a bunyip nicking cattle.

& if I have faith I feel like
Mark Waugh always coming through
when the pressure seems insurmountable.

grace and poise become symbols of an
antiquarian finery like frilly cuffs
& ornamental pistols in a land

where clubbing in shorts is de rigeur if not essential.
you go on your nerve because you never
learnt any better, or anything else.

and anyway things make more sense that way,
the twelve-hour snooze after the three
day binge or saving imported cigarettes

for just the right occasion. take offs are overrated,
it's the landing where the problems occur.