Ross Jackson: ‘Skins’
Skins
people spend for pictures
inked on their skins
for that angry dragon look
to bear resemblance to an armadillo
the pecunious
wish to disguise that they’re well heeled
place their confidence
in tattoos to do the job
oh, it might be fun
to sport a tatt of Tabriz design
instead of my old wrinkled hide
but my fresh Persian carpet flesh
might be singed
with cigarettes
by douchebags with a burning grudge
better to turn my reversible pelt inside out
to live for ever
as my vanilla self
exquisitely unfashionable
Ross Jackson
Many will disagree, but World War III is too great a risk to run by involving ourselves in a distant border conflict
Sep 25 2024
5 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins