Sunday, 28 June 2026

gotcha ~ a reflection

 gotcha ~ a reflection


gotcha! gotcha!

God is the omnipresent louse 

so pick at what you will 

you will still have no will 

for God is everything 

even you 

because he made himself 

and then he made you in his own image 

as a laterally inverted transgendered likeness 

or likeness not 

there it is 

it’s a fact 

you has been got

ye gads

God has only gone and gotten himself 

to blame

Saturday, 27 June 2026

here’s a prompt reply

 here’s a prompt reply 

you offer me a prompt 

when 

to a poet 

the whole world is a prompt

forever is an instant 

#hashtag 

isn’t that the mutton cloth

that an engineer uses

to clean the oil from hands

that have been beneath

the engine of life

resuscitation is in reverse

now there’s a prompt for you

a-systole is a long line

in stanza of lines

queuing to form a circle

to watch the children skip over it

kids ~ well they asked you

 kids ~ well they asked you

kids!

we lined up the snails

and waited for a bus

to squash death

onto a steep learning curve 

as we hung upside down

from the railings of don’t you dare

what we talked about 

was turning life on its head 

but we didn’t understand 

why blood seeping

through grassed knees

was memory’s long smile


Friday, 26 June 2026

Thursday, 25 June 2026

STRAIN spotting


STRAIN spotting 


STRAIN spotting

tearing the underlined pages

from the kama sutra 

sidling the steam train

as electric arrives with its

lubricated driveshafts

vibrating off the rails

of a change of track

what is the point

of the red signals


the menu 

in the dining car

is awesome

but the plates are cold

euphemisms slither

as the lights flicker

and our steward walks past

with the drinks we ordered

empty glasses

the sparkling water is still still

but never mind the strain

the destination is unchanged 

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

hot jotting

 hot jotting

the writing

has melted from the wall

it is the end of us all


at the end of the dance 

of the seven veiled shenanigans 

it is plain for all to see


the last old tree

flowers like you’ve never seen

or will ever again


put the kettle on

i am hot and dry and

i crave just one more sip

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

treatwave

 treatwave

there were hot days

days that were so hot

we wore our bathers 

outside in the street of look

no sea 

not even a hose pipe

not one grownup 

not knowing what to do

we waited until it cooled

then we dressed it up

as a childhood treat

and put it in the box called

remember the hot days