cross-legged on the garage floor
in greasy pools from the Mini Cooper
she wets her breast
in imitation of an initiation
that she just made up
and won’t reveal her sources.
she twists sticks and gum leaves,
string and our classmates’ hair
fingering a pentacle with grease water
onto the cement.
a circle around us
tea light candles at each point
an emphasis on breasts – it’s very feminine, this whole thing.
she says the names of goddesses
that she just made up
rubbing greasy wet leaves
on my skin
bonus petrol smell
from the Mini her dad races.
he’s a large man
with small cars
his daughter likes the smell of petrol
and is initiating me
as a witch
in his garage
__
Jessica Alice is the co-director of the National Young Writers Festival and is the poetry editor for Scum. She co-presents the Kill Your Darlings podcast and produces Australia’s longest running women’s current affairs radio show, 3CR’s Women on the Line.
Image: Valerie Everett
