Friday, 13 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
The Premise of a Party
8 0'clock is a better start than 7,
never start at 7
a real blunder, bigger than you'd imagine,
sitting stout and still
like a potted plant on the windowsill.
a threatful corner of the room
the twin peaks theme music in my head,
a black hole opening up
enveloping everything,
including untimely guests.
artichokes have warmer hearts
Dog walkers beware
when they walk past and they will see me
crawling the room like a caterpiller
counting every square foot.
turning into an insect and eating fruit
Guests will get the shock of their lives
and maybe it would teach them to arrive on time.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Alaska Humming Bird (for Nicholas Hughes)
Why did you take your own life?
Like your mother, in your 47th year.
Now a a 47 year old cargo boat.
you had your fathers face. a tall wintery gent.
and from your mother a body of stitches you learned not to lick
I hear it is in your molecules, and in those molecules there are genes
Thick and gloopy.
Invisible in air.
But unavoidable.
In Alaska
Silent and untamed
Was it completely silent?
The cry of a starling or the fuzzy humming bird
The song of a crying lark maybe.
Was it an owl or another creature they have there?
Or some unknown power station. The sound of the soaring smoke. state governed.
You were through with life . But no one was through with you.
You are now stretched and solid, like a broken rubber band.
And to your mother you are returning
from the gulf of time.
Like your mother, in your 47th year.
Now a a 47 year old cargo boat.
you had your fathers face. a tall wintery gent.
and from your mother a body of stitches you learned not to lick
I hear it is in your molecules, and in those molecules there are genes
Thick and gloopy.
Invisible in air.
But unavoidable.
In Alaska
Silent and untamed
Was it completely silent?
The cry of a starling or the fuzzy humming bird
The song of a crying lark maybe.
Was it an owl or another creature they have there?
Or some unknown power station. The sound of the soaring smoke. state governed.
You were through with life . But no one was through with you.
You are now stretched and solid, like a broken rubber band.
And to your mother you are returning
from the gulf of time.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Ostrich Feet
It is hard to have ostrich feet
getting up in the morning is a struggle
riding a bicycle even worse
the strain of looking for normal feet.
when rain hardens the ground
it is truly hard to get around
even harder to cultivate friendships
when size 13 is even too big.
what to wear is not an issue
I dream of walking backwards down alleys
along decks of ships
clinging to brittle branches
possibly even swimming
swimming lessons when summer arrives
at my door.
to be an english tunnel swimmer
would be the most fantastic trip of all
and would put my feet to good use.
Where the Wild Things Are
A wild wild wild rooaor!
filling a room
he is no longer a shadowfiller
having never said too much at parties.
he has at least a good set of lungs
school finishes then banished to ones room
after supper
what dreadful luck. what dreadful luck!
on the island later that night he climbs many rocks
'what horrible looking creatures' he thinks
i ought to banish them too!
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