New Year’s Eve Eve
I’m not the only mammal living here
the question is
star achiever
enduring theme
I’ve swapped cheese for nutritional yeast
now if you could
friends with benefits movie
develop the courage to ask her
where is the cyclone
who is in the hammock
easy and natural conversationalist
take into the next world
the banned Iranian director Jafar Panahi
the original idea
the secrets I know about my friend’s friends
I see them occasionally at the cinema
malatang dinner
where you choose
Gramsci and Keats, the graveyard in Rome
the new coronavirus
Pomodoro technique
turn right down Rose St past the tennis courts
enough water for three days
it wasn’t a perfect film
no Rosemary’s Baby
what did you learn this year
how to ocean swim
ethical banking
next visit I’ll
say hi and pass on my love
pottery
am I on shaky ground
which bad habit did you kick
is that q too private
ACAB, ATIAB
serenade me
I want to believe the wombat shares its burrow
there was a cigarette box on Gramsci’s grave
my modest savings
what do you know about grime
I smoked one of them
tiredness in the extreme
I gave the money to a family member
they’re not the ones
looking for the right
1970s glass bead curtain
it will take an enormous amount of water
I gave the money to a friend
to mix the concrete
to build the wind farm
loudly
if we move the holiday period
the colour of sand
being ordinary
small, dead marsupial
in an ALDI shopping bag
social fever
floating floor
say the same thing back at me
through the mirror
there are plenty of other problems
that person deserved to get dragged
comms person
this anger
insistent rhythm
ziggurat
say the same thing back at me
guessing
say hi arid love!
Keats’s grave was in a charming position
take into the next world
that major theorist. no
fold down the sofa
I’m searching for practical advice
old horror, new horror
slip up, speculate and roam
total stocktake of foibles
cute clash—lemon and violet
I’ll sip at your drain
counterstrike
there is great wisdom, beyond intellect
counterstrike
I’m entering a more hopeful period
counterstrike
but for the dimming world
bouillon
itchy
alive
invoking the letter of the law
a hand-drawn map
it will get worse
in what small way
can I help
my beautiful father
rainfall
non-violent direct communication
take a deep—‘self-care poem’—breath
dinner party feat. Jerusalem artichoke
trying every day to cast irony aside
the tone of the interviewer
don’t ask me to formulate a jury
an effect simply morphs
its form evolves
young talented baker
charmless lawyer
weekend hiker
buttressed
is it blowing over
breathing the same air
rising dough
bird book left by the ridge
initials on every page
cracked windscreen
Eton mess
I walked across that river you like
the epithet
guitar solo
a nice place to be
lie on the grass
at the top of the salary range
she is whole
still without power
tent and annexe
pieces of the puzzle
admonitions
sate my hunger
undo grammar
vulnerable position
climb the fence
love what you do
move towards forgiveness
stingers beneath
dreary little interior
a clean soul
if it’s supernatural it’s not reality
surround sound
hailstorm
money tree
I’m cosy in my second body
swimming cap
send for help
retreating further and further away
sing the phrase badly
watermark
what day is it
thrillseeker, orientation
in the open air
open-air…
linen sky
alphabet
lying on the floor
handsomely
gossip
not chipboard, polished concrete
an eloquent cough might save us
limited shade
so willing to confide
the spirit of the system
debut
loading up on groceries, bags and bags
the edge that is softest
a gummy edge
prose afternoon
a sharp, sharp pencil
the architecture of the rose
recipient of a long generous letter
cutting the secret
every mark so well drawn
terrible glare
forthright
follow your interests
aerobic activity
protected from the wind
smiling eyes
large cactus
dress-code
sweep, knot
aura or shadow
aromatic
idea for a character and scene
hidden clause
earring, blood-sport
tacking out the pattern
principled
city and suburb
hibiscus iced tea lemon & mint
replace a door
away from the countryside
the sorrows of young Werther
faddish
that feeling of excitement
Casio beat
this will be remembered
reproduction pinned on the wall
theatrical sleeper
fluttering
tennis welcome
okay earth
we knew leisure, not catastrophe
the production of overtime
aggressor
uploaded to academia
I’ll tell you what happened
terrible argument
model citizen
pass—fail
reimagining wealth
texting
I was in trouble but I was allowed my story
going for a run
comprising argument and evidence
picking up your rubbish
driving slowly, parallel to the main street
fibro emotion
furnished bedroom
untangled cords
climate change handbag
relaxed
I barely know which question, or what is—
a question
today is a leap day
I saw there was a diagram on the tree
eyes lighting up
it was likely that x substance
just quietly
pose savassana
my climbing vine won’t climb
Hume Highway
that’s what you get
the complete breakdown
world health
choir power
we killed an hour
trial period
here in my chest
small brushstrokes create texture
such enigmatic torpor
my metier
haptic
tit for tat
world id
the community’s roaming fauna
I’ll go along with it
a midnight fantasia
seeking comfort
human and impressionable
next gen
the legendary wall of sound
Emily Stewart is the author of the poetry collection Knocks (Vagabond, 2016), winner of the Noel Rowe Poetry Award, and three chapbooks: Like (Bulky News Press 2015), Australia’s Largest DIY (SOd Press 2016) and The Internet Blue (First Draft 2017). She lives in Sydney.
