Chapters

a verse for the cheated

growing up on the southern fringe of the Sunshine Coast

we often heard adults rambling on about the local economy

and saw the bright plumage and wealth of tourists

those who came with an odd hunger for visitation

and soon left as tourists

some who copped the brunt of our youthful grievances

those buying postcards of pristine beaches

that were nowhere near us

and purchasing painted coral stolen from hundreds of miles away

and branded with the tag, MADE IN TAIWAN,

they arrived in their brand-new cars that sparkled

upon a strip of bitumen that we regarded as a petulant beast,

a highway that carried some of us away

forever

young and unaware of the finality of death

its greedy black claws lubricated on the nectar of broken dreams

my mate who had his licence for only a week

...the sister of a friend on a casual drive home

...an academic in the senior class, the world at her fingertips

...another mate taken on a motorbike

and a friend who ended up as a plaything for the monster

pulled from the wreckage screaming, fed on painkillers and nightmares

all of this and the tourists taking photos of the roadside crosses

thinking how fortunate and cool we kids looked in this haven

how carefree it must be approaching adulthood on the Sunshine Coast,