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HOLD THAT TIGER

By Chloe Wilson

That morning, in the mirror,
I’d pulled my draping cheek-skin upward.
I had shone, taut and foreign,
the gums and incisors
glistering with saliva.

While evening and the show crowds gathered,
I watched him. The chain glinked
as he traced his circle,
always stalking - even the grass
shivered under his breath.

Entering the ring, he beckoned
me to dance, laid one
paw on each shoulder
and rolled me in the dirt.

His mouth opened wide
as bedclothes, and I scented
the iron on his tongue
while he hinged his hips

and the crowd thought I was dying.

Tigers like to dine alone.
I knew this; yet stayed a moment
too long, waiting
for an invitation

and was not all that surprised
to find a joint of meat missing
from my thigh.

They hunt by pressing you
to their hearts, then
kicking out your insides
in a casual sweep.

There’s the danger.
Not, after all, in the teeth
but beneath the tail,
which, like a finger,
searches out any pleasures
the front end may have missed.

This one slid
his tongue along the contours
of my bowel,
sniffing like a sommelier.

That night, he cleaned himself
thoroughly, that supple
tongue spreading like a stingray
under the nails
and detailing the groin;

ignoring the crowd
nobly, as they shook
the metal bars
that keep them safe.

‘Hold That Tiger’ is featured in The Mermaid Problem, Chloe Wilson’s first collection that has been published as part of the APC’s 2010 New Poets Series, more details here.

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Board

Chair:
Professor Chris Wallace-Crabbe

Professor Chris Wallace-Crabbe is a poet and essayist, also Professor Emeritus in the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne.


Consultant:
Fiona McNabb

Fiona McNabb is a finance and risk consultant, a visiting fellow at the Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre lecturing in financial risk management, a director of VicForests and a member of the North Richmond Community Health Centre Board of Governance.

Fiona has more than twenty years experience in finance, risk management, interest rate derivatives and quantitative analysis at major Australian banks and in the government sector. She is also a Certified Finance & Treasury Professional and the Regional Director of the Professional Risk Managers' International Association's Melbourne Chapter.


Managing Editor, Blue Dog:
Grant Caldwell

Grant Caldwell is a poet, novelist and short story writer. He is currently a lecturer in creative writing at the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne.

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Secretary/Public Officer:
Dr Lyn Hatherly

Dr Lyn Hatherly is a poet who teaches literature and writing courses and has edited, reviewed and published poetry collections.


Consultant:
Ron Pretty

Ron Pretty has been publishing his poetry for more than 30 years. Ron Pretty won the NSW Premier's Special Prize for services to literature in 2001 and received an AM for services to Australian literature in 2002.

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Virginia Proud

Virginia Proud is a marketing and innovation consultant, with over ten years experience in executive marketing roles for leading consumer goods companies, and in the not for profit sector. Virginia has an MBA and a Bachelor of Law, and practiced for seven years as a barrister and solicitor.


Sandy Caldow

Sandy Caldow is a visual artist, poet and writer. She is a Contributing Editor for Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She recently collaborated on an art and building project in Bangkok, which spanned a number of years and involved artists, musicians, architects and writers from Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Japan, Cambodia and Australia. She has a background in community cultural development and has worked for many years as an Art Director, and public art Project Manager for local government and private clients. Sandy has a passion for public space and creative precincts and for a thriving arts industry where publishing and small presses reflect the diverse voices of Australian poets.


Nell White

Nell White is a documentary producer, with 15 years experience in both TV and new media. She has a Masters in Business Administration and a background in project management, strategic planning and policy analysis for government across a variety of sectors including health, housing, the environment and the arts.