Title: The Owners

Author: Helen Heath

In: Sport 41: 2013

Publication details: Fergus Barrowman, 2014, Wellington

Part of: Sport

Keywords: Verse Literature

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Sport 41: 2013

Helen Heath — The Owners

page 240

Helen Heath

The Owners

(found poems)

i. Ray

It’s a little embarrassing.
Sechan spends most of her time
in my room.
Being alone with her, in bed
in the early daylight, looking at her
looking at me, regarding me,
it’s the difference
between being alone and lonely.
When she first came
into my life it was just
sex, sex, sex. Now that’s tapered
off to where we are just there
for each other, we’re always
there for each other.
The thing my father finds
really difficult about my relationship
with Sechan is the fact
that she’s not alive. She’s an anchor
for me. I know
what to expect. With women
you don’t really get that.

page 241

ii. James

I’ve had a very pleasant morning
in bed with Virginia. I think
she’s sleeping it off now. That, of course,
is her sleeping face. I had to change her
over from the eyes open face to the eyes
closed face. She just lies there,
they’re very static.

Smile for the camera.
I have an insatiable thirst
for beautiful women, one doll
is not enough. The photos give
the dolls a life, like family photos,
makes them seem more real to me.
The fact that Rebecca is looking
at her book and Louise is looking down,
their attention is directed
at the same thing, while Louise leans
in a more or less realistic way.

iii. Gordon

I used to be easy
before I got Ginger and Kelly
I used to be everybody’s
doormat but I’m not anymore, it’s all
about what I want now.
This is a Glock 40 calibre and this
a Tech 9mm, fires as fast
as you can pull the trigger and
this is a Mag 90, it’s basically
a cheap version of an AK47. 3 guns
2 girls.

page 242 I don’t like thongs or high heels or any
of that weird stuff.
It’s a turn-off to me, makes a woman
look like she’s been had by a hundred
different guys. I’ve found that relationships
with humans are only temporary
I’ve had that poster for 27 years
that car in the garage I’ve had my
whole life. I just get attached
to physical stuff.

The dolls are everything
to me. I’d rather live in a
cardboard box in a
frozen terrain than in the
biggest castle on the planet without
them. All the lies and deceit,
that’ll never happen again.

The only time I gotta do something
I don’t want is at the factory but
that’s just 40 hours a week. I go
to the store once a month, get my
supplies, that’s it. Other than that
I’m here, doing what I want
doing my thing.

I thought about it and I think
maybe I’ll have them
buried with me, after all I’m
pretty small and they’re not very
big. I think we’d all fit in
a slightly over-sized coffin. Then
we could all turn to dust
together.