The center of the cacaphony re-
bounds in my oesophagus. Birds &
antelopes await its outpourings,
eager for a first glimpse of the
morning menu. There is a storm

in the distance, disparate colors
blended together so that one is
unsure what the current color
is, what it was meant to be. A
poem by Tristan Tzara rides the

wall behind the bidet. It could be
about a winter in Patagonia; but,
equally, there are resonances of
the Tzar’s assassination & the on-
going search for his missing child.

…

Mark Young was born in Aotearoa New Zealand but now lives in a small town on traditional Juru land in North Queensland, Australia. He is the author of more than sixty-five books, primarily text poetry but also including speculative fiction, vispo, memoir, and art history. His most recent books are a pdf, Mercator Projected, published by Half Day Moon Press (Turkey) in August 2023; Ley Lines II published by Sandy Press (California) in November 2023; un saut de chat published by Otoliths Books (Australia) in February 2024; and Melancholy, a James Tate Poetry Prize winner, published by SurVision Books (Ireland) in March 2024.