Ella Pringle
i want to live in an affluent suburb,
accustomed to the quiet sun and Mercedes
i’ll need to escape to Brisbane weekend markets.
hubby will come, donned
in matching bucket hats, we drive kilometres
for our coffee on a Saturday morning.
i want to be these people who
wander the corridor of
white topped tents,
a busker in the background with his acoustics,
and the felted landing of twenty-cent coins.
they have their flat whites tucked against their chests and
their caramel spaniel
Laurence, on a leash.
a spontaneous purchase of a lemon tree
that hubby will carry.
Laurence will huff and gag like a chronic
smoker, pulling so hard against a straight arm
as they meander.
the collar is pressing against his throat.
he’s so excited
he doesn’t even realise
his enthusiasm is choking him…
they’ll stop together at the organic bakery tent,
she’ll point and ask hubby about
‘getting a loaf? While we’re here?’
Sun in his eyes and a lemon tree awkward against his chest,
he’ll say yes.
Laurence will try to pull him off balance, with heavy breathing of determination,
and she’ll weigh up which cooked-wheat-and-water loaf
she wants.
i want be one of these sourdough people,
looking intently at which sixteen-dollar
loaf will be mine.
i’ll stare too, with heavy consideration,
but not at the price.
‘do we want seeds or sultanas?’
i’ll feel rustic and grounded with
my flimsy brown paper bag in the crook of my elbow
and our matching hats, and I’ll be talking
on the way home about planting my lemon tree,
in the space in between our olives and limes.
i’ll get excited about when it might fruit,
detail which crystal bowl I’ll display
the bulbous yellow fruit when they are pricked fresh off the tree
in time.
i will smile to myself years from now.
When i finally ask my partner,
lovingly wrangling dog, citrus, sun and flat white.
‘Seeds or sultanas?’
Author: Ella is an emerging writer who recently moved from interstate to pursue her studies and career in Brisbane. She’s has been invited to read her poetry at the QUT Lit Salon this year and her writing is driven by an excitement at how social realities can be observed and recorded in our everyday feelings and experiences.
Artist: Irene Liao is a visual art student from Taiwan who aims to present figurative human art through her watercolour pieces.
Editors: Kelly Rouzbehi and Euri Glenn