Kamikaze

I was once a boy but now
I am the living death

nearing pure obliteration
gearing towards that

last

explosive

breath

I will go
and take others with me

blow their worlds apart
change the course of history

I will take the road
from the earth up to the stars

see

I was once a boy but now
I am a kamikaze

Shampoo

I bought a certain shampoo because it smelled like something I'd
forgotten - showers at the Eltham
pool - my fellow small girls
sharing sweet shampoo - the mothers
half-wet from helping us lather our heads - bulky bosoms
bustling round the room - wedding-ringed hands
briskly towelling us
dry - dripping ponytails
on the bus back - uniforms sopping
at the neck - hope
and health
and the holy road
home.
I bought the shampoo because it smelled like
home
and I used it
in spite of the parabens and petrochemicals on the label.