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Purgatory
At the Victoria Market
Waiting for the tram
Is a man reading a Q & A
Pamphlet, ‘Purgatory:
Everything you need to know
About the outer suburbs
Of Heaven and Hell.’
Just circling stalls
Of gutted fish
And headless carcasses,
I feel myself descend
Till at the heart of the markets
Sorry meatiness:
The stinky pet shop.
Bewildered creatures in oubliettes
Sitting in excrement.
Only the defiant cockatoos
Strain their skinny
Featherless necks
Screeching, ‘We are not
Just the next parrot.’
Oh, how naïve you are
Unique & Individual Umbrella Company Pty Ltd!
I walk straight past
Into the storm, thinking:
How many times will I do nothing to help?
How many times can the rain
Wash me cold and clean?
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