The tintinnabulation of cash registers
cha-
ching!
down Byron Street,
an asphalt wave of trendy
that has carved itself
across
the swell of old farming land.
Here,
eco-friendly motors
(some idling, some still)
all bumpertobumper,
clutter the narrow street,
shiny modern bonnets
dazzling in the sunshine.
Cashed-up clusters
of cotton clad ladies
dot the boutiques,
discussing organics
and…
difficult friends who are,
“a bit self-obsessed which disturbs my chi.”
At ciggie o’clock,
a flamboyant owner ducks out of his gallery
to fabulously confabulate
with beddable tourists and the odd local ‘darrrrling’.
Perfectly put together,
tongue tripping the light fantastic,
he performs a cadenza of compliments
accompanied by the artful waltz -
thrown gesture,
articulating fingers,
quick drags on his rollie.
In a prime position,
two shops down,
a blight
on the gentrified landscape, squats humbly
between
swanky homewares
and overpriced emporiums.
A homage to the past,
to the original farmers,
to a time when people were sparse
and friendships were forged
over
knitting and jams.
I am lured by their monochromatic tea cosies,
and venture inside
to find cream-filled sponges,
a few rock cakes, square slabs of lamington,
perhaps preserves?
But it is bare of baked goods
and
the pickles are sold out.
So is the jam.
Nicola Pett is a Literature and Media teacher in Cairns, Northern Queensland. Her poetry and short stories have been published online by Writing in a Woman’s Voice, The Chamber Magazine, Grand Little Things and Rural Fiction Magazine.
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