James Gering
A Shining, a Revving, a Jiggling
‘Quickly, Isabella – drop everything, come ’n see!’
A vintage Cadillac, roof cast open, has come a revving
a shining, a jiggling into our cul de sac.
The driver, half a century old, coiffed and sporting
shoulder pads, manoeuvres his lime-green lolly into
the no-stopping zone below our second-storey window
and eases off the engine. Lovely leather upholstery
in cream and tan. A bull-doggy pup, wearing goggles
and a matching scarf commands the passenger seat.
‘Okay, Snoopy,’ the bloke says, ‘you’ve got two minutes
for a pee and a run-around.’ Snoopy leaps out, has a pee
and a run-around. The day waits. Bella and I wait.
Click goes the courtyard gate of the residences yonder,
and tralaa… a young woman – light of step, summery of
garment emerges and beelines for the spiffy wheels.
Let’s call her Gloria. Bella suggests Gloria
is the bloke’s daughter. I smile and wince.
Hug-hugs, kiss-kisses play out in the illegal zone.
‘Is this your car?’ Gloria asks.
The fellow – let’s say Roger – winks and swings
open the passenger door in a flurry of charm.
Snoopy jumps in. Roger responds at warp speed,
his tanned arm practically a blur,
flicking the dog into the Cadillac’s rear.
Roger breathes afresh, pat pats the passenger seat
and ushers in the usherette of the day.
He scoots around and leaps in behind the wheel.
‘Right, he says. What shall we… I say we head for
the nursery café in that grungy suburb. You’ll love it.
It’s a jungle.’ Roger starts the car and glides away.
A Shining, a Revving, a Jiggling – The Return
Bella, Bella, come quickly!
The lime-green Cadillac is back from the cafe,
a jiggling, a shining, a revving.
Gloria sports a vast bouquet of jungle flowers
in her lap. Snoopy is brooding in the back.
Roger pulls into no-stopping and kills the motor.
‘So, as I was saying,’ he says,
‘we could stay at romantic Jervis Bay.
I know this perfect bed ’n breakfast...’
I have to lean precariously out of the window
to catch the words and the action
but the danger is poetically worth it.
Gloria climbs out of the car. Roger also, to meet
her behind. Gloria sees him coming and hoists her bouquet
like an inverted traffic cone with foliage protruding.
She leans around the flowers, air-kisses Snoopy
and wiggles two fingers at Roger,
a revving, a shining, a jiggling.
James Gering is the Australian Society of Authors Emerging Poet of the Year, 2018. His collection of poetry, Staying Whole While Falling Apart, was released by Interactive Publications in July 2021. His second collection, Tickets to the Fall of Icarus, came out in December 2023 with the same publisher. Publication credits in the United States include Rattle, San Pedro River Review and Star 82 Review. James lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. There he climbs the cliffs and rappels the canyons in search of Rilke’s solitude, Chekhov’s humility, and dreamscapes in general. He welcomes visitors at jamesgering.com.
