Jill Jones

1961 - / Australia

The Phantom Division

They're restructuring reality again
but you have to sit and wait your turn
the transfers have been coming down for weeks
and another truckload of files
is settling into the archives
there is a floating field of rumour
closer to the truth than all the press releases
sounds of a makeshift power struggle
flood out into corridors
with eviction notices for the defeated
you lose your harbour views and your identity
you consider a career in espionage, lunch or motherhood
you are now dependent on radar
as unit after unit cuts out
you dream of limbo, you dream of voodoo
and pray they will take you at dawn instead
and shoot you full of silence
falling under the noise
of statutes, photocopiers and ministerial privilege
you want to believe fervently
that it has nothing to do with you
but you begin to learn the spell-cast anyway
how to reconstruct phantoms
you send away for the magic ring
you begin to use the telephone
you start to get in touch.
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