Evangelyne & other poems - Poem of the Month

First Failed Boyfriend


Fearless, he drove his Austin to Patonga.
Steep mountains, rock-slides, wash-aways and slush.
He travelled through these treacherous hills
on winter mornings, on his way to work.
Ambitious, he worked in Woolworths.
I fell in love with his movie-blue eyes
above the beets and sprouts.
He had a cute radio-voice when he announced the specials.
I got to know him, his face cocked in terror
when I asked him out.
‘Elliot Ness eyes,’ my mother said.
We did the courting thing, car ride to Patonga
every Sunday morning, hand-brake cuddle,
his hands going down, where I thought he’d be exciting –
Instead, he raised static on the radio’s lit face.
After six months, his heartbeat flapped
over a new girl in town.
Lined up at the Regal pictures,
dressed in white socks, sports shirt.
She pranced and spun like Elizabeth Taylor.
I tuned-in to Sunday night TV, The Untouchables –
Robert Stack. I fell in love with his undress-me eyes
over Coca-Cola and a bag of chips.