Words by Kira Farrugia
Art by 10pa
“It sounds good but, it’s so
——————-—————-far fetched”
A middle aged lady says to her spouse,
While shuffling through election candidate pamphlets.
A small child dances between her parents legs,
While they and everyone else clumsily dance with her future.
My knees feel weak and I have to stop myself from falling to the ground,
I grip onto the fence,
The kind that is metal and cold.
There are not many white picket fences around here.
Welcome to a probably underfunded community centre,
Surrounded by most definitely, underfunded public schools,
Welcome to suburbia, as I know it.
It seems this is where dreams die.
Cause of death:
Understaffing at the local public hospital?
Intimate partner homicide?
Suicide? Who has access to a psychologist, on minimum wage?
Those who can’t afford this neighbourhood, work tirelessly to move in,
While those who can afford this neighbourhood, work tirelessly to move out.
This is a transitory place,
Where you raise your kids, until they leave for a place on the other side of town,
At least this is how we justify working six or seven days of a week,
Striving for goals, when the goal posts keep moving.
You save for a house deposit, but it’s now only enough for a car deposit,
You deflate in the face of inflation.
United Australia Party, posters hang off this fence
Our egos, convince us we are not that different from men like Clive
We too will be rich after we hustle a little longer,
The Great Australian Dream…
To break bread, white bread of course,
Knead by the poor, devoured by the wealthy.
Most of us will remain hungry,
Despite stuffing ourselves sick,
We could share this bread, but there’s just not enough to go around.
You see, this is my second serving and I’m still not satiated.
My appetite is particularly strong tonight, but I’m a generous man so,
I’ll let you eat my crumbs before you wash my plate
It’s my turn now,
I enter the polling booth with that small child in mind,
Her future is worth fighting for, no matter how far I have to fetch the baton from
She deserves more than just the crumbs
Human rights,
Are not far fetched
