Thursday, 31 January 2019
Monday, 28 January 2019
Where Equivalence Goes To Die
Sunday, 27 January 2019
Entertainment
As usual,
it was one tank that drew the crowd
down in the museum’s aquarium.
It was not the tank with pike
gawping threateningly,
their teeth barred
in anticipation
and hope
of attracting an audience.
No,
though there was a monstrous pike in it,
swimming with i’s mouth wide open.
But it’s mouth was open wide
in wonder,
in wonder at its strange environment.
Well,
it’s not often that a pike gets to swim
in a drawing room
furnished from times past.
It’s eyes bulged
with the strangeness of it all.
But
it was a crowd puller,
though still not enough
to satisfy such an audience,
the pike reflected,
as it considered the strangeness
of it’s very un-fishlike companion,
the young girl costume dressed
to match the drawing room,
standing there dreamlike
or maybe drugged,
steadying herself
with the chair.
Perhaps earlier she was seated,
when the water was lower.
but now she has to stand.
The water is already
up to her waist
and rising slowly.
The audience gets larger,
their eyes bulging fishlike
as they gawp at the spectacle.
They call it entertainment.
So it goes.
Friday, 25 January 2019
Tuesday, 22 January 2019
Laughter, quirky smiles.
And then
our glances held,
suddenly.
Moments passed.
She spread her hands,
arms outstretched.
A helpless gesture
of excuse me,
what can I do?
So
up to me.
Too complicated.
But.
I want to know
more.
Look this way
again.
I want to know
you.
So, look.
Look this way.
But no,
no luck.
Talking now,
head turned away.
Then,
smiles all round.
Mouth upturned,
eyes dead,
leave taking smiles.
Walking away.
Turn!
Turn!
No turn.
No backward glance.
Not for me,
it seems..
But I know..
so turn,
turn.
No turn.
So clumsy.
Chair upturned.
Excuse me.
Apologies.
Due haste.
Well,
never a gain
without a chase,
I know.
Wednesday, 16 January 2019
Perfectly Imperfect
with our thumbs outstretched
by an English roadside.
We were heading towards Italy and Yugoslavia
without maps or money,
or sense of direction.
and swam off the rocks,
with a man we’d met in a cafe,
because he said we could.
And we swam and swam until two policemen came,
(one very stern and one very twinkly),
and said we couldn’t.
Nor could we leave the rocks without clothes on,
or with clothes clinging to our still wet bodies,
or lie on the rocks until we were dry,
in case we disconcerted the traffic or populace.
This being the main street in Trieste.
in a house ‘typique du Turque’
with a water pump in the garden
and a toilet, also ‘Typique du Turque’,
which made us very ill indeed.
But the parties were good and
the conversations interesting,
Even though no one spoke English.
And we learned to speak some Albanian,
which was always handy.
And we survived to sit thirstily by a hot,
dusty roadside and fantasize
about the ice cold mountain water
streaming through the streets of Pec,
and even about the water pump in the garden.
We had got lost a lot,
but hadn’t got raped or murdered.
So far as we can remember.
What perfection.
Friday, 11 January 2019
Such Nonsense
a student still in college.
He read us a long poem.
I listened carefully trying
to make sense of it.
It was funny.
Was it meant to be funny?
or was the laughter of derision,
to what sounded like nonsense.
Laughter seemed allowed
and that was unusual.
School was not a place for fun.
Well, maybe it was nonsense
but I loved the imagery
and the colours of the words.
I asked if 'pea green' was
the colour of mushy peas
from the chip shop,
or was it those in pods
fresh from the garden.
Nothing was clear,
but it was fun.