Excerpt as part of Inside Voices project

The worst thing about being asked to write about
something so clinical, so
unlovable
like

trying to find something at Bunnings Warehouse or
a 60% sale at Briscoes or
being abandoned in a foreign city as winter’s setting in
is that

the mind gravitates north
towards
hot places.
Bad memories.
Good feelings.
Stupid things
you’ve wished for,

all of which I’ve come to equate
with the feeling of
falling in love,
of diving back
into that wild surf
again and again.

Thank you.
Stop it.
More please.