Two by
Stephen House
escaping slur
fog lifts on worn carousel
as oscillating gaudy figures
surrounded by woven fables
rise and fall without reason
whispering sly avoidance songs
in jangled sarcastic rhyme
while invisible answers
tremble bright in glamour
soft stepping in fearful slush
sweet accomplices skating near
clusters of lovers reminiscing
on taunt remains of fallen truth
hovering by lapsed dreams
advantaged by conquering all
laugh at those congregated
who live to hate talent divine
we never chose the brittle edge
flying performances were real
yet wrought with prickly danger
blemished floor and hollow chasm
relished to avoid damnation slaps
correctly normal grows tiresome
so we rose above regardless
of condemned spells rapidly cast
did you see a floating star
ascending lurking grime
winners drift higher when kicked
blackened pasts causing wince
unlikely celebrity escaping slur
soar amidst attempts to crush
destined notoriety never drowns
before inevitable prize finality
joy pure
we played our way
of this together
you and me
beauty clear
life being
maybe they’d not
see all as view
theirs is
us man with man
our tangible
but we won life over
without explain
quiet smile
friend kind
wise steady
between us
was all
decades required
solid two manifested
joy pure
natural was
in smile
we ran consoled
from young to old
sweet blissful
still shining
laugh bright
holding near
solid two remain us
in trusting
Stephen House has won many awards and nominations as a poet, playwright and actor, including two Awgie Awards from The Australian Writer’s Guild, Rhonda Jancovic Poetry Award for Social Justice, and The Goolwa Poetry Cup, and nominations including, a Greenroom Best Actor Award, Tom Collins Poetry Prize, Patrick White Playwright Award and Queensland Premier’s Drama Award. He’s received several international literature residencies from The Australia Council for the Arts and an Asia-link India residency. His chapbooks real and unreal and The Ajoona Guest House are published by ICOE Press. His next book drops soon. He performs his acclaimed monologues widely.