I wrote a kind of poem.

Recycling

1992
I found our cat Riff-Raff’s sister, Magenta, as road kill.
A girl up the road showed me her stuff so I showed her mine.
I listened to Jimi Hendrix and saw Dad pinch Mum on the bum and wink, Mum laughed him off to keep making lunch.
By 5pm I was either asleep or having a lay down.

1996
I loved Riff-Raff, more than the chickens, the cows, the horse, and even our dog Kariba.
A girl at primary school gave me butterfly kissed so I kissed her on the cheek.
I sat on Dad’s work bench while he played his Pink Floyd vinyls after arguing with Mum over nothing in another room.
By 8.30pm Mum was still saying I was meant to be in bed an hour ago.

1988
I cried ‘cause Riff-Raff and Xena, my sister’s cat, died within the same month, but my rats kept me happy.
A girl up our new road used to come over after school to make-out.
I listened to ‘Smash’ by The Offspring all the time while Mum still tried to make Dad happy when he looked empty inside.
By 10pm I was reading Goosebumps after brushing my teeth.

2001
I hated having to give my rats to my best friend when we moved to a rented house.
A girl from Sydney was shy when she gave me a blow job, I was nervous.
I played a lot of Raised Fist’s ‘Ignoring the Guidelines’ while Dad was over-seas for an extended holiday.
By 1am I was signing out of MSN ‘cause I liked to surf before school.

2003
I didn’t mind not having any pets because I had waves and music.
A girl over the fence let me be her first so the older boys didn’t think she was frigid.
I laughed when Dad asked “How do you listen to that Crap?” when he visited from overseas – It was Bleeding Through and Throwdown on a mix CD.
By 4am I was sick of refreshing my home page and no one else was on MySpace at that time anyway.

2005
I thought about Riff-Raff a lot but Mum didn’t want a pet in the house she bought.
A girl from another town loved me and the way I tied her up.
I downloaded the whole Bright Eyes discography but when Mum yelled at me for not washing the dishes I listened to The Postal Service instead.
By the time the sun rose I was still awake so I’d ride to the beach for a surf.

2007
I had moved away then back again and pets weren’t on my mind.
A girl I used as a rebound always hugged me like she meant it after we fucked.
I smoked weed and listened to ‘Colors’ by Between the Buried and Me and Mum cried because she thought she failed at being a single mother.
By that time I watched subbed Naruto online ‘cause sleep never came.

2009
I found my cat Osiris digging a hole outside and he looked at me with guilt.
A girl wakes me up every night by rolling over with the blanket.
I pinch her on the bum and wink, she laughs me off to complain about me having Born of Osiris up too loud.
By 5pm the dogs and the cats are either asleep or having a lay down.