Down south there’s a
limited print series
available dusk to dawn
from autumn drought
through grey winter scarcity
running right through
scraggly green spring
and riotous summer days
roadkill intaglio
every piece an original
all applications accepted
fashioned in a moment
by incognito artists
fresh pressed warm ink
locally sourced materials
that burst from bushland
bisected too recently for
macropod mind maps
to update with warnings
that they’re now participants
in state-wide community crafting
Those unwitting artists
in their mobile printing
press on wheels
shedding artwork
expertly under carriage.
Does it appear in side mirrors,
after the thump and jerk,
are they aware of those vague shapes
of the inadvertent etchings
rolled hard upon the earth.
A truly visceral experience
inverting familiar frames
of soft mocha hues
aesthetic ash and jet
into a palette more Dante
rich, bright and shuddering
flecked ivory and green
or do they close their eyes
in the sudden glare of headlights
the signal to start the process
invoke a prayer
hope the viscera left for raven
fortune telling on the verge
is commission enough
to satisfy material access
Down south there’s a century old show
every exhibition the same
artists established and emerging
their work emblazoned across
rolling bitumen pages
