Bio
B N Oakman is an Australian poet whose poetry has been published in literary journals, magazines and newspapers in Australia, the UK and the USA and recorded for ABC Classics on Peter Cundall Reads War Poetry. He was awarded a grant by the Literature Board of The Australia Council for 2009 and a chapbook, Chalk Dust: Poems from the Social Domain (Mark Time Books), appeared in the same year. A full-length collection of his poems, In Defence of Hawaiian Shirts, was published by Interactive Press in 2010. A chapbook of new work, Secret Heart (Mark Time Books) will be published in early 2013. He has taught economics at universities in Australia and in England. www.bnoakman.com
B N Oakman
Bendigo Transit
Christian's Bus Company operates buses for the
Bendigo Transit Authority in Victoria, Australia.
Christian's is the word on the side
and for two waiting at the stop, flown
from god knows where, wound
in robes and headscarves, barely
on speaking terms with English,
that apostrophe suggests something's
different from certain parts where
such a noun might mean 'only',
while here agnostics, atheists,
heathens and assorted believers
all get taken for a ride, reassured
by a well-placed possessive.