Jordie Albiston

Albiston pic

Jordie Albiston has published seven poetry collections.  Two of her books have been adapted for music-theatre, both enjoying seasons at the Sydney Opera House.  Jordie’s work has won many awards, including the 2010 NSW Premier’s Prize.  She lives in Melbourne.  

 

 

I went to the shooter’s house    pled shoot me
shoot me    open my chest like an unread
book    blast my colophon    break my spine    let
all my pages fly out    look    recto    vers-
o    I am a box    & aimed a finger
right here at my heart    there are poems in
there    you can hear their din    each tiny word
weighs a ton    I-am-out-of-everything    
baby needs air    but don’t mind me    reload
your gun    your bullets will taste just like love

    it is cold    she walks to the corner    vers-
    o recto left right left    turns the corner    
    thinks about karma    wonders exactly
    which stars are extinct    she steps    stops    forgets   
    remembers the whole world is dead as a
    door-nail    shot while it blinked someone said

a white car has had all its windows smashed
in    it wasn’t there yesterday    marry
me? is written high in the sky    lucky
I went out the back for a bit before
the words passed away    today is Thursday
it is seven past three    a warm wind moves
through the trees    someone is crying    I am
pleased to report the results of such del-
icate signs    the driver may be dead    the
girl say no    but I think yes! & alive

    the day peeked in    I wasn’t home    flying
    with fishes swimming with birds driving my
    car upside down    tomorrow is coming
    it says on the news    I may or may not
    be in it    time is gone still    it’s tricky
    to tell    this day is made up of minutes