Tuesday 31 July 2018

A Mutual Attraction

A poem from 2018

She was beautiful
I mean, seriously beautiful
And at the time I didn't realise
The attraction was mutual

It was a foul day
Chucking it down with rain
Seriously pouring
And I looked like a drowned rat
An unfashionable drowned rat

I went into the bank
Not to get out of the rain
But because I needed to go to the bank
And I was served by the most beautiful girl in the world
I left with an internal sigh

Days later I discovered a mystery
My mother told me she'd spoken to Vicky
Who works in the same bank
After I'd left Vicky had the following conversation with Miss Beautiful (Miss Beautiful kicked it off)
“He can come in here any time!”
“Who?”
“Him. The attractive one.”
“That's my next-door neighbour. He's training to be a priest.” (I wasn't)
“Just my luck!”

(I was amazed that a beautiful girl seemingly couldn't find a boyfriend and found a bedraggled wretch attractive. Mind you, they probably say the same thing twenty times a day about different men)

So, Paul, my mother said,
You can go in there anytime!

(Of course I can, it's a bank! Rolls imaginary eyes)

Sunday 29 July 2018

Axe To Grind

A poem from 2018


He has an axe to grind
You can hear the sounds
Forcing through his mind

He makes up argumentative voices
Sparks fly as he gets angry with imaginary demons
Cranial screeching drives him self-insane

He's going to leave soon
When he goes out the door
There will be no turning back

Shallow, enraged breaths
He turns the key
And God have mercy on the souls of those in the wrong place at the wrong time

Photo by Eliabe Costa on Unsplash

Friday 27 July 2018

Prison

A poem from 1986



this tent is like a prison cell

nowhere to go

no room to walk

no escape from the ignorant voices

that fill the night

no sleep

the night patrol parades around

looking for someone to talk to

to wake up

to take away the tedium

of nightshift

no light, no sunlight

to stream through no windows

only the non-adjoining cell-blocks

outside



this tent is like a prison cell

it makes me appreciate the home bed

and eight hours sleep

with no morning hour to keep

and leisurely days

with the homefire burning

at the least hint of cold

there’s nothing like discomfort

to make one aware of selfishness

and good providence

Thursday 26 July 2018

Science

A poem from 2018

Give me more reasons to believe in nothing
Make me some facts and
Make sure you interpret them to
Make me a monkey with no soul

Take my breath away and
Make me a chemical soup
Make me head nowhere
Make me do nothing with no purpose
But to lie to myself
Making me think I have a reason to live

Give me an ever changing contradiction
Making me forget what you said in the past and
Make me believe in you implicitly to
Make me an anaemic amoeba

You used to think God's thoughts after Him
Now you make our lives easier
While becoming a self denying Deity

Tuesday 24 July 2018

Death Star

A poem from 2018

We did all we could for her
It was too late, that's all
Her time was up

We tried helping her breathe
It was a losing battle, that's all
Enemies stealing life

We tried to restart her heart
It had turned to stone, that's all
Accumulated sins

Wasted away
Devastated
Still beautiful
Yet spoiled
She won't be resting in peace

Monday 23 July 2018

Burning Rubber

A poem from 2018

Too fast!
Too fast!
Rushing around
Here, there and everywhere
Why do it?
Isn't that what got us into trouble in the first place?
Lack of patience
Lack of trust
Burning rubber
Eating dust
Losing our legs so we drive in cars

The smell
Oh, the smell!
It's choking us
The smoke
The smoke!
It's making us retch
It brings tears to my eyes
A whole people
A whole nation
Born of disobedience
Destined to be a thorn in the side of the world

Stop. this. now!
Rebellion isn't fun in the long run
That stench!
That fire!
It burns!
It never stops burning!

Thursday 12 July 2018

The Next Big Thing

A poem from 2018

The Next-Big-Thing
Comes so fast
So thick and so fast
To get even fifteen minutes of fame is a dream
Running here
Typing there
Posting, posting everywhere
Screaming into the air
Just scroll on
Just slow down
Come back to the real world

Wednesday 11 July 2018

Consuming Fire (aka Don Brennan)

A poem from 2018

Good guy gone bad
A string of setbacks
Crushed slowly
The turn
The introspection
The obsession
The faithlessness

Good guy gone mad
A victim of a scam
Insane evil
The burning
The hatred
The revenge
The all consuming

I'm the author of my downfall
I destroyed my life
But I don't take responsibility for my decisions
It was you
You ruined me
I can't forget it
When I close my eyes I see your face
When I sit in silence I hear your voice
Laughing
Mocking me
This will end in tears
Your tears
Your blood
I'm going to kill you
A life for a life
You took my life away
You
Your fault
You
Only you
You!

Photo by Peter Forster on Unsplash


Tuesday 10 July 2018

Jack Russell

A poem from 2018


He’s a real live wire
A feisty little man
Standing proud

He’s independent
He’ll fight his corner
He has a murderous glint in his eye

His cheeky smile
His quick wit
His charm will woo you

Jack went down the boozer, all cocky like, a big grin on his face, easily distracted by the new barmaid, ordered a pint and a bag of pork scratchings, sat down on the worn out chewed and scuffed chair near the TV, avidly watching the football, shouting louder than the rest of the punters, a piercing brightness in his gaze, he shoots he scores, Jack goes wild as his team takes the lead, he looks around and sings a chant, waving a fist in the air, sheer joy overtaking him, he is on top of the world, not even suspecting his team would lose 3-1 and he would get into a fight, leave the pub in a police car and spend the night in a cell

This is Jack
A wiry little fellow
A chancer