Slippery vinyl, cold glass,
the old smoke of your uncle’s embrace,
pulse flamenco dancing,
as streetlights smudge to neon
in the click and hiss of an aluminium can.
Stones jolt in the headlights,
fear seeps from your teeth,
yet more rubber on the fire—
an old shoulder in your young ribs and
the roar of a dumpster being emptied.
Warwick Sprawson is a Melbourne-based writer. His manuscript ‘The All-star Star Bazaar’ was shortlisted for the 2018 Varuna Publisher Introduction Program.