By Tiggy Johnson
This poem was shortlisted for the Right Now Poetry Competition, judged by Maxine Beneba-Clarke, Amanda Anastasi and Benjamin Solah. Read the shortlist here.
He’s leered at, sometimes
followed, watched
when buying knickers
for his girls.
He gets cookbooks
and leftovers for birthdays
while the girls get baked
treats wherever they go.
He doesn’t always know
when they need
a hug, or how to ask
his mates for advice
they don’t have, or
where to go to vent.
His girls’ friends
rarely come to their house
to play after school
and they’ll never
be allowed
to sleep over.
Tiggy Johnson’s poems have appeared in Cordite, Quadrant, Audio Overland II, Going Down Swinging, and in Black Inc’s Best Australian Poems 2012. Her poetry collection First taste was published in 2010 and That zero year, co-written with Andrew Phillips, in 2012. She is currently writing her family history in poetry. Read more about her at www.tiggyjohnson.com.
