Tuesday 31 October 2017

Running Commentary

A poem from 2017

I take a breath
My left arm rests upon my chest
A finger and thumb holding my chin
I see the white screen
The letters on the virtual keyboard, autocorrected
Press the green enter arrow
I notice the keyboard accepts autocorrected as a word
But the documents app rebels
Underlining it in red
And wanting to write teeheehee instead of rebel
Automatic suggestions of the current word typed
Three alternatives, or maybe just one
The next line consists of alternative words to this line
Three nextdoor lounge considered odd alternate woods today thus lube
Teeheehee!
And in the meantime my left hand moved unbidden to my forehead
The TV spews a stupid drama my wife likes
I'm in the room but it's just sounds
As l stare at the screen as I type my eyesight becomes a little blurry
I pause to stretch my fingers
And rotate my aching wrist
And I wonder, dear future reader, are you still with me?
Are you getting this?
I scratch the occasional itch
And decide to bring this running commentary of a so-called poem to an end
Subject to a further personal spell and grammar check

Monday 30 October 2017

Friday 27 October 2017

Childhood Dreams

A poem from 1993

A tiny minority of childhood dreams
still attainable
but long-forgotten
broken in the fire of
adolescence and adulthood
the painful process of independence
trapped in the cycle of hatred
of imagined banality
cursing and seething
at the green grass
wanting to escape the fields of my own blood
but seeing no end to the torture and killing
unless this year brings about desired
and undesired change
the solution to all problems is death

Thursday 26 October 2017

Outside My Head

A poem from 2017

Outside my head
Is a big, wide world
That I hardly ever recognise

Inside my head
Dialogue incessant
Occupies me with its semi-lies

Inside my head
Droning endlessly
The same exaggerated phrases

Outside my head
I must force myself
To interact with real places

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Spider's Web

A poem from 2017

I worked all night making that
While you were sleeping
This work of art
To catch me some food
And along you come and destroy it in seconds

Monday 23 October 2017

Lonely Hearts

A poem from 2017

She smiled at me and called me darling!
Is the checkout girl in love with me?

Saturday 21 October 2017

Comfort Eating

A poem from 2017

Goodbye Jerry, hello jelly
Goodbye Fred, hello fried chicken
Goodbye Paul, hello pavlova
Goodbye Sam, hello samwidge
Goodbye Peter, hello pizza
Goodbye Alan, hello a lamb chop
Goodbye Murray, hello curry
Goodbye Raymond, hello ramen

Goodbye Emma, hello emmental
Goodbye Charlotte, hello shallots
Goodbye Sue, hello soup
Goodbye Amelia, hello a melon
Goodbye Grace, hello grapes
Goodbye Claire, hello eclairs
Goodbye Kayla, hello Kale
Goodbye Sydney, hello steak and kidney

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Gaze

A poem from 2017

Mental haze
Mouths agape
A cloud takes
An angel shakes
Us from our shock

He's heading for Heaven
Why does this surprise you?

Beyond our sight
Like a vision in the night
The king of light
Brilliant white
Receives a kingdom

Tuesday 17 October 2017

It's Only A Flesh Wound

A poem from 2017
Hello there!
How am I, you ask?
I'm fine.

Well, actually, no I'm not.
I'm feeling down
And very tired all the time
My head aches
And I've been feeling sick a lot
My boss seems to take out his bad moods on me
And I'm fed up with it
But he won't grind me down
Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger, as Kanye West said
I've not been sleeping well
Laying awake in bed till the early hours
Incessant thoughts whistling through my mind
While I toss and turn
But it's only a flesh wound, as Monty Python's Black Knight said
I will survive like Gloria Gaynor
I'm so lonely too
And feel like no one loves me
That's a miserable thing

Hey! You've gone!
You're chatting to some gorgeous blond!
I thought you wanted to know how I was?
I'll add you to my litany of woes, so called friend.

Monday 16 October 2017

Frog Spawn

A poem from 2017

Abandoned in the pool
Easy meat
A meal for every predator

Am I compliant?
Why is nobody helping me?
Why are my cries going unanswered?
Are they all in this together?

Can I make it out of here?
Can I grow up?
Will it always hurt?
Will I have a life?

Why me?
Why did he tell me he loved me?

Friday 13 October 2017

Samantha

A poem from 1986

I know a girl called Samantha...
that’s a lie
I don’t really
sorry!

Thursday 12 October 2017

Mother Hen

A poem from 2017

Mother Hen, Mother Hen!
Leave us alone!
We can do it all on our own!
Mother Hen, Mother Hen!
Stop making a fuss!
You don’t own us!

We’ve got this down to a fine art!
We don’t need you
We, blind fools
We have a cottage industry going
We get people to buy our latest books
We sell secrets to gain riches
We are in the know
We plaster on smiles
We wear suits
We look beautiful on the outside
We have them eating out of the palm of our hands
We create the atmosphere
We drown them in their tears
We make them fall down with a glance
We prey on the credulous
We take their cash
We know how to put on a good show

Mother Hen cries
Mother Hen sighs
Mother Hen will have her revenge