
writer, guitar player, artist and filmmaker from New York City, Melbourne, now in Stockholm. 8000 words on violence.

DESTROY
eight miles high
drones 
gods and 
tourists 
criss-cross 
the sky 
anger 
be now your song 
immortal one sing
sing 
o goddess 
rage 
sing the rage
yeah no
yeah 
no as the driverless
train
lurches left then
right 
braking
she rages a-loud
yeah
no
yeah no
with her 
hands
eyes and
jeans
pre-stressed 
blue and white
that’s a picture of me
that’s 
a 
picture 
of 
me but 
that’s 
not me her 
friends 
also gods nod 
and 
mock
faces 
a-light 
in pre-stressed
blue and
white
phone-glow
here it is
lyndzee's nude selfie
gracing now
a circle of
phones 
it is you 
they
prove 
with numbers
and
inside
the pre-
stressed
genes
of their 
brain minds
and on their
bodies too they
already 
feel it
what 
albert einstein says about god 
not 
playing dice 
cus
albert too
feels it breaking
now
the bond 
between 
body 
and 
belief 
cut to
ethan
aka 
marion mitchell morrison
aka
duke
aka
john wayne
walks 
up 
behind
ward bond
who is sitting 
at 
the 
table 
eating
a donut and 
drinking 
coffee he leans
down and 
says
captain the reverend samuel johnson clayton mighty impressive
rising
still chewing ward bond
aka
the reverend 
says
well 
the prodigal brother when'd you get back i ain't seen you since the surrender come to think of it i didn't see you at 
the 
surrender
don't believe in surrenders
says
ethan 
turning away reaching for 
his gun 
belt no
i still got my sabre reverend didn't turn it into no ploughshare 
neither
mose harper 
in a rocking 
chair 
near 
the 
hearth 
is looking at martha edwards
aka
dorothy jordan 
who 
is 
looking 
off screen
at 
ethan
the injuns did it mizz edwards
kaw or 
kiowas 
old mose knows yes sir
he says 
oh shut up mose
says 
charlie mccorry
thank you 
says mose
my cattle's been run off
says 
lars jorgensen 
sitting 
drinking
coffee
gesturing also 
with 
a 
donut
ethan 
does up his gun belt
debbie edwards 
is 
at 
the 
table
drinking 
milk
and 
off screen
aaron edwards
aka
walter coy
says
ethan i'm counting on you to look 
after things while i'm 
gone
you're not going
says ethan
what
says aaron
he sure is going 
i 
already swore 
him 
in
says the reverend
well 
swear him 
out again i'll go with 
you
ethan i don't think i should i got 
a 
responsibility
stay close aaron might be this is rustlers 
might be this doddering 
old idiot ain't so 
far 
wrong could be comanche
kind words ethan 
thank ya kindly
says mose
children go with lucy
says
martha
debbie leaves 
the table
aw mom 
says 
ben
ben 
says 
martha edwards 
comanche 
says 
the reverend rubbing 
his chin
turning 
to 
ethan 
well alright i'll swear 
you in
no need to wouldn’t be legal anyway
why not you wanted for a crime ethan
coffee ethan
thank you martha
you asking me as a captain or a preacher sam
i'm asking you as a ranger of the sovereign state of 
texas
you got a warrant
asks ethan
you fit a lot of descriptions
says sam
i figure a man's only good for one oath at a time 
i took mine to the confederate states of 
america 
so did you sam 
stay close aaron
says 
ethan walking 
away 
vell tank you mrs edwards vee have to be going
says
lars jorgensen 
and
thank you miz edwards 
says 
charlie mccorry
aka ken curtis
and
grateful to the hospitality of your rocking chair m'am
says mose 
close behind charlie 
and lars
and all
out 
the front door
as 
aaron
puts his hand on martha's 
shoulder
and 
she puts her 
hand 
on 
his
o gods 
our greek earth will be drown’d in just tears 
rapeful troy
her king and all his sons 
will make as just 
a mock and joy 
of these 
disjunctions
or
28 march 1841
south australia
ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet
here
it is flat
empty of 
life only
several species of tree or scrub
survive
scattered 
bent
stunted  
in the hard 
red earth
no clouds constant 
wind white 
light blue 
sky merciless 
horizon i hate 
these flies and the heat
each of us everyday 
gets 2 
pounds of flour
1 
cup of sugar a handful of tea 
and 
what's left 
of 
the sheep i won't 
eat lizard 
or 
snake it’s not 
right for a whiteman the horses 
need better grass we 
bury 4 
muskets
12 boxes of 
shot and powder
the sextant 6 
books a 
pickaxe 
blankets
and 4 saddles i know 
what it is to be 
hungry 
cut to
i shoot 
a kangaroo
and chase 
it 
for most of the day
finally catching
it
clubbing it 
as the sun goes 
down
i lie 
on the dead 
animal
feel 
the heat drain away
we sit here stranded though we all do our best to deny it
6 april
today we did 21 
miles west 
north-west   
yarry shoots another
kangaroo
the blood tastes 
of iron 
and louise holds a handful of rain tempting you to defy it camping 
last night near tolerable 
grass
the horses are doing better than i 
imagined   
for several evenings
now 
we've seen smoke 
from 
small fires
these 
must be native 
camps in the morning
we begin 
heading for what 
looks like a large
tree 
we walk all day
toward
that marker finally coming 
upon 
it 
in the evening
not a large tree at 
all
a shrub
no taller than a horse by the fire
under    
a blanket 
of stars
the wind 
tells me tales
lights flicker from the opposite loft
before 
the sun is up
i crawl through the bush
collecting 
dew drinking
the heat makes 
me 
sleepy 2 small 
lizards fucking
in this room the heat pipes just cough
lunch
cut 
to
county kildare once
a convict now a free man wherever i am
rachel is with me
meanwhile
further internet searches 
show 
that nude selfie
and
a list
of
lyndzee's
164 
interests
and
at
or near
the top is
are
conversation
camping
holidays
mexican food
nights in watching youtube
reading
dinner with friends
the lion king
and
that she lived
lives 
in
jupiter florida
denver colorado
and
or
eugene oregon
and
or
in
a
youtube clip
talking
with a young 
man
about
perfume
clothes
and 
makeup
she 
looks
happy and
playful
but
pause 
the clip anywhere
and 
her face frozen also
shows fear
worry
terror
mother
mother
as my life came from you 
though it is brief
honour at least from zeus 
the 
thunderer 
i call my due
23 april 
morning coming 
over 
a rise
we surprise 
several 
families 
at camp we are english
we are looking for 
the 
inland sea
who 
are 
you
they stare 
at us
we stare at them
the country music station plays 
soft
they stare at us
we stare at them 
but there's nothing really nothing 
to 
turn 
off  
hornsea england 1826 
my name is edward john eyre
i am 10 
years old 
the son of a yorkshire 
vicar the cotton 
in my clothes 
comes by way of 
sail 
from egypt
where isis 
rules
supreme in magic 
power
cunning 
and knowledge 
her name means throne
and she is
the
devoted sisterwife of osiris
and 
mother of horus
just louise and her lover so entwined
my room 
has two 
windows 
overlooking our garden 
and 
these visions of johanna that conquer my mind
through them 
i can see 11 miles into the 
distance i know 
because 
i pace it out
my family 
comes to england with william 
the conqueror
my father 
tells me his 
great
great
great
great 
grandfather lost a leg 
at agincourt
that i have 
a duty 
to him
i see god's 
wisdom 
in the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with the key chain
his order 
in 
everything 
i study 
and 
excel 
in mathematics 
and 
the natural 
sciences  
am 
taught how 
to 
trap
kill 
and 
preserve 
samples 
of the local 
flora and fauna 
i am 19 when
150 pounds 
is put down 
as 
a 
deposit
for the purchase 
of a 
commission 
in the army
after 
several months of waiting 
my father 
decides 
i
should 
make my fortune 
in australia and
or
i am 
nyungar
i learn 
mineng 
bibbulman and goreng 
languages
i am licking 
sweet nectar from
a bright yellow 
banksia 
cone
i sit on the ground 
watch
my mother fuck for 
grog she is 
beaten
there is a soft breeze 
it rains
washing the dirt from her face
i hold 
her 
as 
she bleeds 
to 
death
and the all-night girls whisper of escapades out on the d-train
the elders throw rocks and spears
at 
the whitefella 
who killed her he sits 
at the edge of our camp 
and 
then 
is 
gone  
i live 
near the sea
with 
dogs and rubbish looking 
for 
food i have 
many 
brothers and sisters uncles and aunts
family 
is everywhere i learn 
to 
speak 
english 
dutch and french
several white men come 
with horses and 
a wagon and   
take 
my  
sister   
away
i sleep 
under a church wear 
pants 
a shirt 
and hat 
am named
wylie
i work 
for food am told to pray
before 
there is hair on my chin
i am a cabin boy on a french whaler
stranded 
in 
adelaide
we can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane 
my father tells us 
we are royalty
sons 
and 
daughters of niall of 
the 9 hostages
i do not know 
how 
old i am 
when 
he dies of a fever 
after being 
stepped on 
by 
a 
horse i have 
3 sisters 
and 
1 brother
my youngest sister dies 
along with my 
mother 
during 
the summer hunger we live 
in 
a windowless 
mud and 
thatch hut 
in 
county kildare 
when told to vacate 
the land rachel 
my oldest sister 
and 
i walk 
to dublin
we sleep 
under 
a bridge
i learn to graft 
we live in a room above 
a 
stable rachel 
is a prostitute 
i 
steal 
matching rings 
louise she’s alright she’s just near 
rachel is bleeding he refuses 
to pay 
we fight 
i 
kill 
him
with his own knife
i sew her 
up we flee 
to london she says
we are wed now
you and me
john baxter the city 
smells of shit 
we eat 
rats
she’s delicate and seems like a mirror
rachel goes to the river
with 
fiona i never 
see either 
of 
them 
again
i'm caught
imprisoned for theft now
on a barge
on the river
that 
took 
my 
sister awaiting 
transportation to australia
i marry 
another rachel
she is pregnant we are
6 
weeks at sea
below 
decks in
a puddle of sick  
shit
rats
flies and lice
rachel 
catches a fever
and 
dies wrapped 
in a 
shroud 
they 
throw her in the ocean
but she just makes it all too concise 
and 
too 
clear
that johanna’s not here
ah 
my son
why have i rear’d thee  
would that 
without tears
or 
cause for tears 
transient 
as is 
thy life
a little span 
thy days 
might pass at troy but 
short 
and 
sorrowful 
the fates 
ordain thy life
peculiar 
trouble 
must be thine 
whom therefore
oh 
that i had never borne
but 
seeking the olympian hill 
snow-crown’d
i will myself plead for thee 
in 
the 
ear
of jove 
the thunderer  
meantime 
at thy fleet 
abiding 
let 
thy wrath against 
the 
greeks
still burn 
and 
altogether 
cease 
from 
war
today
if 
somebody calls you 
a lyndzee
they mean
the most amazing girl 
you will 
ever 
meet
ever
she is beautiful and loving
the 
kind of girl 
any guy 
would die 
for
she might be stubborn 
sometimes
but 
she is there 
for anyone 
anytime
she 
is
blessed in all the right 
places
need I say 
more
can I say 
more
yes
but there aren't enough 
words 
to describe 
how wonderful 
she is
if 
you meet one
consider 
yourself 
lucky
because 
god only makes a handful 
of lyndzee's love 
her 
and 
she'll love you like no 
one 
else 
will
and
the word
lyndzee is 
derived from 
the old scottish surname 
de lindsay
meaning 
from lindsey 
a coastal district 
of 
lincolnshire 
in northeastern england
cut to
aaron 
takes 
his shotgun from
the wall
loads 
it
i think i'll try and pick off a couple of sage hens before supper
yes 
you do that aaron
says martha
as 
she and debbie set 
the 
table
my 
the days are getting shorter
says lucy
aka 
pippa scott
lucy 
we don't need a lamp yet
says martha 
anxious
let's just enjoy the dusk
lucy shrugs 
and 
takes
the lamp from the table
ben 
walks in carrying 
the 
sabre 
ethan 
gave him he 
stops 
at 
the threshold looks back
out
over 
his 
shoulder
it's alright ma i've been watchin it's only
martha touches 
his arm
he 
turns 
to 
face 
her
what ben 
she asks
i wish uncle ethan was here don't you ma
together 
they 
look out 
the door of the log cabin
cut 
to
aaron
is
standing at 
a 
hitching post
martha 
and ben 
are 
framed 
in the doorway 
of 
the log cabin
behind him
he
looks intently 
left 
to 
right
his 
brow 
furrows
his grip on 
the rifle 
tightens
there are 
several
glints 
of light
coming from within 
a bush in the distance
a coyote 
howls
aaron backs away
toward the house
looks at 
martha
close that shutter ben good boy
says martha
hurrying 
to 
close other
thick
wooden shutters 
aaron 
runs 
in shuts 
the door
ma i can't find
lucy 
yells martha 
rushing
to 
blow 
out the lamp
that 
lucy 
has placed 
on 
the table
and 
lucy looks 
around the room
at her father
aaron 
with his 
rifle 
rushing to shutter
windows
then
at her mother
eyes wide
she 
puts 
a 
hand 
to her already open 
mouth
looks 
at the camera
at us
she
screams 
martha 
slaps her
stop it stop it
shouts martha
lucy 
cries
they 
hug
cut to
aaron opens a window and looks out
at a large 
sandstone 
butte
under a 
dark blue sky 
and
several hundred yards 
away
a cloud of dust 
drifts 
across the sand and 
sage grass plain
of 
monument valley
aka
tsé biiʼ ndzisgaii
which
in navajo
means 
valley of the rocks 
and 
martha brings debbie 
aka
lana wood
to the 
open
window
saying
we're going to play our sleep-out game remember where you hide-out with grandma
where she's buried
asks debbie
and you'll creep along the ditch very quietly 
like
like a little mouse 
says debbie 
smiling
hurry up martha the moons fixin' to rise
says aaron martha wraps 
debbie in a shawl 
holds her 
close
and you won't make a sound or come back no matter what you hear promise
i promise
aaron 
picks her up
places her on the sill
wait can't i have topsey
there's no time
here she is baby
says martha handing debbie her doll
ben and lucy
look 
on
ben 
clutching the sabre 
lucy 
a rifle 
now down low 
run
says aaron 
pushing debbie off the sill 
baby 
cries martha
collapsing 
arms 
outstretched
aaron pulls her 
in 
and
shutters the window cut
to
a dog steps 
through
a small passage in the side 
of 
the house barking it 
runs up 
to 
debbie
go back chris go back go back chris chris go back go back
chris
says debbie
the dog walks 
back 
toward the house and 
debbie sits 
down 
next to a tombstone she 
is about to 
have 
words 
with 
topsey
when a low note 
from the orchestra 
sounds
and 
a shadow 
falls
over her and 
topsey she
looks up cut to
a man 
with 
feathers 
in his black hair
red and yellow paint 
on 
his 
face scowling
he looks around
then blows 
into 
a 
bull's 
horn
and 
as 
the note 
sounds the scene 
fades 
to 
black
to which achilles
groaning deep
replies
my mother 
it is true 
olympian jove
that prayer fulfills 
but thence
what joy to me              
patroclus slain 
the friend of all my friends
whom most i loved
dear to me as my life
him 
i have lost
and
or
12 june 1841
rain 
at last god has seen fit 
to 
preserve us
and our 
endeavour we dig 
holes 
and spread 
tarpaulin
our kegs and buckets 
leak
we are cold and 
wet and 
without sleep for days
tonight 
we roast 
and eat from a dead horse 
for 2 
days 
cramps
diarrhoea
vomiting
i decide to leave
to walk 
back
home
and 
while stealing 
a gun
and 
some sugar
i 
yarry
shoot 
john baxter who
is 
found   
delirious
dying
his eyes stare up 
at the night sky rachel
rachel 
he says
i 
edward john eyre
hold his 
head 
close his 
eyes 
wrap him 
in a blanket 
and 
make a cairn 
of him
the ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face
i am a child 
where these visions of johanna have now taken my place
when 
i see my first whitefella
we are ngunawal
my father is a singer
he spears 
a kangaroo
in the neck the spirit 
enters my mother
gives me life
names me
yarry
this mark on my neck
i am that 
kangaroo i watch 
the dancing and 
singing
and learn
baiame made the land
and us 
from the land
then he 
stepped 
back
into the sky
we move with the seasons
digging
planting
hunting
burning
singing
dancing
making
country   
i watch from the verge
the whitefellas chop 
down 
trees
build fences and 
scratch 
long lines in the ground 
everyday 
i 
move a little 
closer
i 
help them they 
give 
me 
food and a torn 
shirt
i 
learn 
their words and 
teach 
them mine
uncle drinks 
grog
walks 
crooked
and drowns 
in the river my mother carries 
a nail 
in her dilly-bag
for digging and sewing
we are forbidden 
to 
hunt and fish 
where 
we 
always
hunt and fish 
we spear a cow 
for food whitefellas 
ride 
through 
our camp scattering 
our fire 
smashing 
our home
my father dies of a fever after 
being 
stepped on 
by a horse
we move further 
away now
little boy lost 
out here
i am son
and cousin to nothing and nobody
he takes himself so seriously
tired 
thirsty
hungry
i miss my land
my family
with our footsteps
to guide me 
back
i walk away from the dead man
away from the whitefella 
and 
blackfella 
funny faces yelling my name
yarry yarry away 
from the flour 
and 
sugar and 
dying 
horses
shaking the dew from 
bushes
eating lizards and berries 
i walk 
home
the wind pushes him home
days
nights
walking
my stomach 
cramps
my muscles 
ache
my face tries to 
cry 
but nothing comes 
out
he lies down 
out 
of the wind
the sun warms 
his body ants 
crawl across 
my 
face 
he wakes
i feel them 
on my tongue
and 
in my nose
i keep 
walking
all day and night
and all the next 
day 
and night
and
in my sleep
he stumbles 
forward falls
looking 
up at the full moon 
i feel the night ground
hungry
my body growing 
colder
too weak to shiver
now 
a 
part 
of this land
and
60,000 years 
or 
so
before he i
yarry 
dies 
men women and children walk
from sand bar 
to 
sand 
bar 
across a shallow body 
of 
water 
from
land that 
will later be 
called 
west papua 
and
papua may be a tidore
word that means
land that is far 
away
and
or 
a 
malay 
word that 
means
frizzy haired
to a land
that is 
now 
called 
australia 
a latin word 
meaning south 
land
and later
the sons and daughters 
of the grandsons and granddaughters
of
their children and their children's children
move out and 
around
the edges 
of
this island 
continent
learning to 
live 
on
and  
with
the land and 
what made the land 
and
all that lives on 
and
under
the land
and
where i lie dead once 
was
a 
shallow seabed 
now 
is 
the earth's largest
single slab
of
exposed
limestone 
called
kattaundiri 
or
the nullarbor 
plain 
or
undire 
which 
to 
the mirning people is 
a 
word that means 
bare 
like a bone 
but 
it is not bones but
tiny sea shells 
now 
limestone
and 
the mirning 
are 
also called
baaduk
which
to 
peoples
north 
of the mirning
means 
circumcised or ignorant
and under
kattaundiri 
undire
or
the nullarbor plain
is
a
network 
of caves home 
to 
phosphorescent insects
white 
sightless 
fish
and 
a 
devil serpent 
or 
whale 
called 
jeedara 
who
when angered
lashes 
himself about causing
dust storms 
that 
sweep 
across 
the plain 
and 
the caves that are 
beneath
our 
bone bare land 
open onto
jeedara's 
other home 
the sea 
and
but 
before this
before 
jeedara had a home beneath 
our 
bone 
bare 
land
jeedara is 
watching a ceremony 
where 
the 
wombat 
is changing skins 
with the seal 
and
yugarilya 
or
the seven sisters 
from 
the constellation also 
called 
pleiades 
see jeedara 
and 
seeing that
he 
is
circumcised
or   
uninitiated 
chase 
him 
with their digging 
sticks 
towards 
another 
ceremonial ground 
in 
the 
west and in the 
pursuit 
jeedara 
pushing the waters 
of 
the 
sea 
ahead of 
him creates 
caves and blowholes 
and
he smashes 
into 
the land
and 
creates 
the cliffs 
of 
the great australian bight
aka
the southern edge of
the nullarbor plain 
aka
the once and future 
limestone slab of a seabed
with 
his 
shoulders 
so that his friends 
a black 
dingo 
and 
a white 
dingo
can walk there
beside him 
and 
keep
him 
company
as he 
swims west 
to a special teaching 
place 
at 
which
he is 
instructed in tribal 
law 
and
then
jeedara swims further 
west 
to a place where 
he 
dances 
and 
mates with his wives 
4th august 1844
london
he presents a 
paper 
and 
some specimens 
to the royal geographical society
he brags of his misery
based on his specimens there is
conjecture 
that 
once 
there 
was an 
inland sea but 
not 
anymore
not 
for many 
thousands of 
years 
he likes to live dangerously
he applies 
for 
and 
is 
awarded 
a job 
in the colonial office while waiting 
for 
a 
posting
he stays 
with his father
at the vicarage 
in 
hornsea he walks 
along 
the beach
wondering if yarry ever 
made it 
home
he 
remembers
watching him go
hoping 
he would 
come back putting 
a 
rock 
with 
a fossilized shell 
in it on
baxter's cairn
the wind 
in his ears
and 
dirt in his teeth
dogs barking 
kids running
cheering
and when bringing her name up
he speaks of a farewell kiss to me
the band plays god save the queen
marching 
to 
the 
edge 
of 
adelaide
sweating 
in ceremonial 
dress drinking 
kangaroo blood
black ants with sky-blue abdomens
white light
red earth
at night
a shroud of stars 
the shriek of a cockatoo 
a puddle of maggots 
on 
a 
dying horse the breasts 
of 
a 
black girl dew 
encrusted spider 
webs walking 
toward his shadow 
in the morning and away 
from 
it 
in the afternoon 
wylie comes 
and goes
at night with dead lizards 
and snakes 
and 
in 
the 
morning 
with a dew 
soaked sponge one by 
one 
the horses 
die
i take 5 steps looking at the ground and 5 steps looking at the horizon 5 steps looking at the ground and 5 steps looking at the horizon 5 steps 
looking 
at the ground
5 steps 
looking at the horizon
now curled 
under 
a bush
the 
sun 
high
overhead 
he’s sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all
i can't 
move
muttering 
small talk at the wall while i’m in the hall
wylie smiling
holding 
a 
big
yellow 
banksia cone 
dripping sweet nectar home
he says pointing
westward
home
oh 
how can i explain 
it’s so hard to get on
in 
london
he meets sarah
a daughter 
of 
a 
friend of a friend 
of his 
father’s
and these visions of johanna they kept me up past the dawn
he's handsome 
i am in thrall to his exploits
our first posting 
is 
to 
new 
zealand 
as lieutenant governor
i 
arrive in wellington 
on 
11 july 1847
poor already
having 
spent a quarter 
of
my yearly 
salary 
on 
several 
new suits 
with brocade
and 
silver 
lace
a fine warm 
day
a 13 
gun 
salute
the dressed yards of 2 
warships and the band of the 65th 
plays 
god save the queen they say
in person 
he is 
tall
very thin
with 
a tip-toeing gait
narrow-chested
has 
a bad tailor
a most disagreeable countenance 
a bad head 
phrenologically speaking
small and contracted
indicating something materially 
short of 
full capacity
peculiar 
of 
speech
the 
very 
border 
of 
an impediment
taciturn
awkward
a sheep herder
a nobody
inside the museums
infinity goes up on trial
five months after 
my arrival
i am sworn in 
and
on
10 january 1851
i
he 
is relieved of duties
as lieutenant governor of new zealand
married 3 years
2 daughters
sailing back 
to 
england
pacing the deck 
wondering 
if yarry ever made it 
home watching him 
go 
hoping 
he would come 
back
in london
i take the girls window shopping
we 
stroll 
through the park
and watch 
a man making 
daguerreotypes
voices echo 
this is what salvation 
must be like after awhile
shoes
dresses
coats
shawls
hats
mother mother
they shout
only they 
will ever call me 
mother 
his father 
now
walks 
with a cane
sleeps 
till mid-day
by 
the 
fire
head tilted to one side
retired 
still in 
hornsea
he lives on his savings and pension
it is generous 
of 
him to 
accommodate
us 
for so 
long 
and 
under 
such circumstances
i have written 
again
to the colonial office 
explaining 
the unfairness of 
certain 
payments 
withheld
and 
expenses incurred 
without 
remuneration
and 
await 
reply then
from bristol to the ivory coast
rocking
and
rolling 
now
in jamaica
the carriage
stops
stuck
at an angle we walk
the 
remaining
100 yards 
up 
to 
government house
it is 
hot 
and the overgrowth
stifles 
all 
hope
of a breeze mother and 
i rest
our dresses 
and shoes 
stained 
rust red
with
dirt the house 
is dark
the roof 
leaks the walls 
are 
damp windows do 
not open the drain 
stinks of rotting 
flesh
the 
privy is a hole 
set off 
from the larder 
by 
means 
of 
a 
curtain
but even mona lisa musta had the highway blues
you can tell by the way she smiles
escorted 
through 
the 
heat
and stench
of kingston 
shopping 
with the girls i 
witness
several instances of public 
drunkenness
see the primitive wallflower frieze
2 brawls
when the jelly-faced women all sneeze
solicitous 
acts 
and 
men
openly
relieving 
themselves 
against carriage wheels 
and
walls
hear the 1 with the moustache say jeez
our eldest is just coming into 
womanhood
i can’t find my knees
159 
years 
later 
in afghanistan 
see if you can zoom in on that guy
says the mission coordinator
or
mc stationed at creech air force base in
clark county nevada
and
the drone pilot or
dp
also 
at 
creech
but in the room 
next door
asks 
is that a rifle
and 
the 
drone camera operator
dco 
who is sitting
next 
to
the dp 
says
i can't really tell right now
dp says
i was hoping we could make a rifle out see if anybody else has anything interesting what about the guy under the north arrow does it look like he's holding something across his chest
camera operator
or co
says
yeah it's kinda weird how they all have a cold spot on their chest
dp
they wrap their shit up in their mandresses so you can't identify it
co
that truck would make a beautiful target that’s a chevy suburban
mc
screener said at least one child near suv
co 
bullshit where send me a fucking still i don't think they have kids out at this hour i know they're shady but come on
mc
they're reviewing
dp
yeah review that shit why didn't he say possible child why are they so quick to call kids but not to call a rifle
mc
two children were at the rear of the suv i haven't seen two children
then 
a
special operations soldier
sos 
lying 
on his belly 
in 
the 
dirt 
in
afghanistan 
and 
less than 
half a kilometre 
away from the chevy suburban
says
we'd like to keep tracking them we want to take out the whole lot
dp
i don't think he's going to let us shoot
mc 
that truck's got everyone in the open so a hellfire would do dandy
co 
a gas tank makes for a good secondary too i hit a vehicle once before and it was a big black cloud
mc 
all three vehicles have just stopped everybody is dismounting we have eighteen military-aged males dismounted and spreading out looks like blankets
co
they're praying they are praying this is definitely it this is their force
mc 
they are going to do something nefarious maybe headquarters will let us have one vehicle since we tracked them so long adolescent near the rear of the suv
co
well teenagers can fight
mc 
pick up a weapon and you're a combatant it's how it works
co
one guy praying at the front of the truck sweet target i'd try to go through the bed of the truck put it right dead centre
mc 
that'd be perfect
dp
can't wait till it actually happens
mc 
looks like they're about to be coming up to a little town
dp 
our screeners are currently calling twenty-one military-aged males no females and two possible children 
sos 
when we say children are we talking teenagers or toddlers
co 
not toddlers something more toward adolescents or teens
sos
like i said twelve to thirteen years old with a weapon is just as dangerous
co 
oh we agree yeah
dp
hope we get to shoot the truck with all the dudes in it
meanwhile
i struggle to remember 
the smell
of 
the dark earth and
freshly mown 
grass
at the cemetery in hornsea
on my husband’s behalf 
i write 
to the colonial secretary 
complaining 
of 
the meagre 
wage 
and housekeeping 
stipend 
awarded a temporary 
governor
why is it 
half 
what a governor 
receives
when 
the duties social and professional 
are 
the 
same
oh
jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
as
the council hears news 
of bloody feathers
disembowelled 
goats
and 
late night 
gatherings dark 
affronts 
to the established church
but these visions of johanna
they make it all seem so cruel 
cut to
and or
where the circling key-bone from the neck
disjoins the shoulder 
there 
his throat appear'd
there 
achilles aim'd 
and
there 
his javelin tore
stern passage quite 
through
hector's neck 
and
the camera pans left
to 
right across a plain 
white
with snow crowded
with buffalo
milling 
about scraping 
at 
the frozen
ground 
grazing
on the soundtrack 
tympani
beat out a steady
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
as
ethan and martin pawley
aka 
jeffrey hunter
enter frame 
carrying rifles
the strings
jump 
a semi
tone 
and 
the time
doubles 
as
ethan kneels 
brings 
rifle to shoulder
sights
fires
the music stops 
the 
right 
front
leg of a buffalo
buckles 
and
the animal falls
the herd 
startles
begins to run 
he fires twice
more 
the sound 
echoes 
off the hills
across 
the plain
the 
herd stampedes
grimacing
ethan 
takes cover among 
a stand of 
trees
fires 2 more 
times
martin
enters 
frame 
yells
ethan this don't make no sense
hunger and empty bellies that's the sense it makes you blanket head
martin 
grabs the barrel
of 
ethan's rifle yelling
ethan stop it
ethan 
knocks 
martin 
to 
the 
ground 
aims and pulls 
the 
trigger but 
the gun 
is 
empty he grabs 
martin's 
rifle
saying
at least they won't feed any comanche this winter
and fires 
3 
more 
shots
cut 
to
24 april 1864
he is
i am 
appointed 
governor-in-chief of 
jamaica
with 
the commensurate 
increase 
in salary 
effective 
immediately
the peddler now speaks to the countess who’s pretending to care for him 
my eyes 
are failing
i 
read the letter several 
times 
name me someone that’s not a parasite and i’ll go out and say a prayer for him
it 
is 
very 
hot 
humid
and still
i 
cannot tell 
you
i cannot tell anybody
how it makes 
the body 
smell
but like louise always says
ya can’t look at much can ya man as she herself prepares for him
i wash 
and 
wash 
still 
the damp smells 
rise from my skirts
and madonna she still has not showed
he grabs me 
around 
the waist yelling 
fire murder
fire
murder
i will put them back
please 
let me go 
i will put them 
back
2 months 
hard labour
and 
beatings
for 
trying to
steal 
2 bundles of cane
valued 
at 1 shilling 
gunshots
it is dark
i smell 
smoke 
my wife 
and 
daughters are 
sleeping 
down 
the hill
the courthouse 
is 
burning
we see this empty cage now corrode
beatings 
by the mulatto militia
hard 
labour digging 
weeds
out of 
a red earth
for 
a 
white 
man
my skirt
and blouse
are in tatters
exposing 
me
to 
jeers 
and cold
where her cape of the stage once had flowed
my mother is stepped on
by a horse
before 
she dies 
she tells me 
of 
the 
crossing shackled to 
12 
other girls
covered 
in darkness 
covered 
in 
flies
rats and shit 
rocking 
on the sea 
2 months 
hard labour
for 
trying to
steal 
2 bundles of cane
valued at 1 
shilling 
now
the courthouse 
is burning
we are 
dancing
drunk
angry
tired 
hungry
i
he 
suspends 
the constitution 
and declares 
martial law
the fiddler he now steps to the road
arms 
are distributed black 
masses 
are rumoured 
people 
fill 
the 
square
he writes everything’s been returned which was owed 
every white male
and 
landed 
mulatto
receives 
2 rifles and 
100 
cartridges
on the back of the fish truck that loads
fires sweep over 
the hills
across 
farms
livestock 
stampede a horse harnessed
to 
a 
burning 
livery
runs through 
town
while my conscience explodes
a child 
shot 
in the eye stands
round mouthed
silent
one 
hand 
cupped 
to her 
face 
crying blood courts 
are convened
men 
armed with clubs
knives
guns 
shovels
bloodied
feared 
fearful
roam the towns 
and countryside
killing 
looting raping chasing
chased 
by an armed militia
sworn to serve
and 
protect people are 
shot on 
sight
on 
suspicion 
bodies
hang from 
trees
gibbets
windows
from ropes
vines and 
bed sheets
eyes bulging
naked
his body shakes 
dying 
he gets an erection scores 
settled
businesses
buildings
estates
whole plantations
plundered
burned
naked
pinned to the ground
legs spread
her throat 
is slit
her body
flayed
clubbed
set alight 
shot
screaming
the harmonicas play the skeleton keys in the rain
men 
women 
children
silenced
their bodies
stacked 
neatly 
in 
rows
and these visions of johanna are now all that remain
as
priam enters stands
near to 
achilles
clasps 
his knees and kisses                
those 
terrible and 
homicidal 
hands 
that have 
destroy'd so many 
of his sons
see in me
oh god-like thetis' son
thy aged father
50 sons 
the deities did 
give 
my hopes 
to live in 
all 
alive when 
near 
our trembling shore
the greek ships 
harbour'd
now 
of all 
my only 
joy
and troy's
sole guard
by thee
late fighting for his 
country
slain
whose tender'd person
now
i come to ransom
infinite 
is that i offer
you
myself
conferring it
expos'd
alone to all your odds
only
imploring 
right of arms
achilles
fear the gods
pity an old man
cut to
today 
i got this client coming in cus she made a stupid 
mistake 
that’s 
keeping her from getting married 
says big gus 
smiling 
to the camera
well-trimmed goatee
framing 
white
teeth
i ain’t no damn marriage counsellor but i am gonna see what i can do for this girl
i have something so horrible you’re not going to believe it
says lyndzee 
to 
big gus 
i don’t wanna even 
imagine 
what 
kinda 
tattoo this is 
cus i don’t see it 
anywhere 
as the camera
tilts 
up past bare
legs
pink shorts brown 
eyebrows blonde 
hair 
to a face
trying 
to smile
just because the sex is good now
frowning 
doesn’t mean the tattoo will be
says lyndzee
that musta been some 
good booty if 
it 
got 
some 
bad 
tattoo 
on you
nodding 
real good booty
says lyndzee
lemme see what that good booty got you oh my god does that say 
destroy 
in your private 
area
it sure does   
what the 
fuuuuuuuuuuuck
i 
got this tattoo 
for 
my 
man 
and 
my whole world fell 
apart i can’t 
even 
describe 
how bad i need it 
gone 
says lyndzee 
to 
the 
camera 
what do you want to 
do 
i mean 
i didn’t even 
ask you 
says big gus
i was thinking a caterpillar smoking 
a 
hookah 
says lyndzee
the caterpillar is like 
me 
turning into a butterfly
got ya 
and because i like 
hookah
cut to
mose harper
aka
hank worden top hat 
on 
his 
knee
sitting
in 
a 
rocking chair
on a porch 
he looks out
into 
the distance
and smiles 
as
the 
music swells
and 
mr and mrs jorgensen
aka
john qualen and olive carey
rush from inside 
onto 
the porch 
to see
ethan and debbie and martin 
approaching
on 
horseback 
then
mose and the jorgensens
are 
joined 
by an anxious
laurie jorgensen
aka
vera miles
who touches her heart
then 
runs 
off
skirt 
billowing past 
ethan and 
debbie
aka 
natalie wood
to take martin's
hand 
cut 
to
mrs jorgenson 
twisting 
her gingham 
apron
she brings 
it 
to 
her face
to wipe 
a tear as
off screen 
the sons of the pioneers 
sing 
a man will search his heart and soul 
go searching way out there
as
ethan dismounts
and
debbie 
wary 
slides into his arms
mose grins 
and
puts his hat 
on it is 
several 
sizes 
too big 
ethan stands debbie on 
the porch mrs jorgensen 
gives 
debbie 
a big 
hug
holds her 
tight
his peace of mind 
he knows he'll find 
but where o lord  
lord where
then 
mr 
and 
mrs 
jorgensen 
and debbie 
go inside 
the house and
ethan 
hesitant
steps 
onto 
the porch
as
martin and laurie
hand in hand
go 
inside
ride away
ride away
sing the sons
of
the 
pioneers 
and 
ethan stays 
on 
the 
porch 
outside 
looking in and
the wind blows the brim of his hat
up 
he shifts his 
weight 
onto 
his right leg
grimacing or
smiling
he rubs his 
elbow and
the sons of the pioneers sing
ride 
away
and ethan turns
and
steps 
off the porch 
and 
walks 
into 
the wind 
and 
swirling dirt 
of monument valley
and between him
and us
the door 
of 
the house closes
and 
the screen 
goes 
black 
so 
how the hell did you get destroy tattooed on you 
asks
big gus
well i decided to go to this party and i walked in and there was this oh my god hot hot guy he didn’t speak a lick of english well then he starts kissing me out on the dance floor and i’m like oh i’m liking this good finally we make our way to the bedroom and his penis was just enormous 
hee-hee 
and the next thing i know i am having the best sex ever i was like 
i need you you’re too much i need it 
what happened next 
asks 
big gus
my friend calls she’s like wanna get a free tattoo and i’m like whaaaaaaat a free tattoo oh my god hell yes i'm gonna get 
destroy 
tattooed 
above my vagina to honour 
my lover’s 
ginormous 
penis 
i 
can’t promise any fairy-tale endings 
says big gus
but 
what 
i 
can 
promise 
is 
to try to give you 
a good tattoo 
yeah 
and
a quick fade
to black 
then 
several 
commercials 
fade up
alright here ya go check it out
oh 
my god i love 
it 
it's awesome 
it’s 
amazing 
i’ve never seen anything more 
beautiful 
in 
my 
life there’s no words 
to 
describe how 
good 
it 
makes me feel 
now 
that 
destroy 
is finally 
gone 
from my body
ben speth
spring 2020