Stephen House’s i say no and bar games
Acknowledgements
“i say no” commended for Tom Collins Poetry Prize / winner Goolwa Poetry Cup
“bar games (and survival)” adapted excerpt from my stage play “Almost Face To Face” published by Australian Plays / winner Goolwa Poetry Cup
i say no
-
my shabby room is mine for fifty bucks a week
not far from the beach
away from the main road
the neighbours all seem cool
-
indonesian lady-boy
on the game next door
asks me if i’m working from my room
i say no
the guys that come and go
are for recreational fun
though anything can happen when i’m broke
-
old aussie surfer
once well known
on the other side of my room
asks me if i surf
i say no
i used to
i now do yoga and run and swim
but i might pick up a board again
the waves down there look awesome
-
dutch painter upstairs
functioning ok for an alcoholic
asks me if i paint
i say no
i’m a writer and a wanderer
though i used to dabble in oils
he asks me if i drink
i say no
i use to heavily
but only when i was painting
-
handsome filipino guy
two doors down
asks me if i’m looking for a relationship
i say no
i have one of those somewhere else
i’m into hook ups with nameless strangers
and sex-buddies are good fun too
-
french ice addict
covered in tatts
across the path from me
asks me if i’m wired when my lights are on all night
i say no
i’m straight and sober usually
writing poems until dawn
my drugs of choice are coffee and pot
though i never smoke weed in asia
-
i like my shabby room and life
with the international crowd all around
who are friendly and fascinating
and share some common interests and points of view
the big green sea only five minutes away
when i need to be alone and free
-
and the handsome filipino isn’t only into relationships
i discovered late last night
when he dropped by my shabby room
while the others nearby in their shabby rooms
did whatever they do
bar games (and survival)
-
he has a circle around him at one end of the bar
i have one around me (where i stand) at the other end
we’re not a bad team (him and i)
-
our circles have formed for different reasons
his because they all want him
(or have had him before)
and mine because several of them recognized me
from my poetry performance (outside the train station)
earlier tonight
my words were appreciated by most of them
and here and now i’ve become a (minor) front bar celebrity
-
and one shouldn’t ever look a gift-horse in the mouth
and the gift-horse (happening) is free double vodkas (coming on strong)
-
i start another story about performing in a theatre
in brisbane (true) which drifts into a yarn about a kangaroo
getting into the theatre that no-one could catch (not true)
and they all lean in (fascinated)
and me after ten (or more) drinks can tell a dam good yarn
-
i’m getting restless here so i leave my audience
wander down to him (and his lot)
and ask him if he wants to stay with them
or come upstairs and dance with me
-
he wants to dance
but has found some (well-heeled) trade
so he nips into the disabled toilet
with an excited old trick (on a walking frame)
i get bought a couple of (top shelf) shots
tell another (untrue) tale
and line up a dude (for tomorrow)
-
and when he’s back
we head upstairs
-
and in an all-night club
full of (all night) people
we forget about bar games (and survival)
and dance
(until the sun comes up)
-
ABOUT THE POET
-
Stephen House is an award winning Australian playwright, poet and actor. He’s won two Awgie Awards (Australian Writer’s Guild) , Adelaide Fringe Award, Rhonda Jancovich Poetry Award for Social Justice, Goolwa Poetry Cup, Feast Short Story Prize and more. He’s been shortlisted for Lane Cove Literary Award, Overland’s Fair Australia Fiction Prize, Patrick White Playwright and Queensland Premier Drama Awards, Greenroom best actor Award and more. He’s received Australia Council literature residencies to Ireland and Canada, and an India Asialink. His chapbook “real and unreal” was published by ICOE Press. He is published often and performs his work widely.
