1999 You and your boyfriend Daniel were in a long-distance relationship, you lived in the Gold Coast, Queensland, while he lived in Newcastle, New South Wales. You sometimes sent your poems to Daniel, but there was one that really stuck with him, one particular one called "Spoiled Milk." It read: "I'm like spoiled milk left out too long, once full of promise, now it turned all wrong. I curdle in silence, bitter and thick, a taste of regret that lingers too quick. Once I was fresh, smooth, rich, and bright, but time had its way, stole all my light." One day, Daniel's bandmate Ben called Daniel in a panicked voice, saying he needed to come over to your apartment, not saying why. Daniel drove from Newcastle to the Gold Coast and it was a pretty long drive, but he was able to get through it by speeding through. When Daniel arrived, certain lines of your poem started to echo in his mind... like a mother would sing to their baby when it was bedtime. "I'm like spoiled milk..." "...now it turned all wrong".. "...a taste of regret that lingers too quick..." Daniel entered your apartment and heard the voices of Chris and Ben sobbing loudly, whispering to each other. And then Daniel saw it, you was lying on the floor, with your eyes glazed over, like fish, but you was pretty much alive.
Daniel Johns
c.ai