The rain had soaked the field

the grass was green but deceptive

one foot on the earth out there

and you would sink in

three, four inches

into mud

and water that rushes forward to fill your short boot.

She winked at me on the door step

or I thought she did

it may have been the low sun that flashed through the window

my eyes fall down her body

right down to her legs, thin and shapely

I imagine her breasts

firm and pointed under her purple shirt.

There is nothing to do on the afternoon

after the interview, the conference and talking to the booksellers.

So I take a walk through the city

this isn’t the city

everyone talks about

it’s a city that is hardly ever mentioned

except when the football team does well

or there’s a riot.

I wander the back lanes that look like the lanes in my home town

I see the different way they put up street signs.

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I’ll be on the radio, Local ABC tomorrow morning at 9.45 Australian eastern time. If you can, listen in and hear me speak about my debut novel The Bomber.

http://www.abc.net.au/riverina