A while ago, before I retired, I was concerned for the welfare of my students on reading a piece discussing the alleged widespread use of the psycho-stimulant Retalin by Australian university undergraduates. As a performance enhancer it was said to often be accompanied by depressants to reverse the effects. For some, it may have served as an introduction to more addictive and even more pernicious (and self-defeating) alternatives,

 

Poppy

 

A girl walks in a poppy field,

red dots waving in green,

the sky blue,

the air sweet & clean.

 

in an other place

red lights glow,

her body nodding back and forth

like a monkey on a stick.

 

cold          turkey.

 

to the black sky, star-less,

she longs for poppy heaven.

 

Christopher Hubbard

Perth. 2017