



SOUPER
it is the souper
souped-up cup
supermen ubermensch
teams of eleven Messis
eleven Cristiano Ronaldos
each managed
by eleven Pep
Guardiolas
no offside law, infinite
omniscient VAR
four quarters, half-
time penalty shoot-outs
everyone wins but
survival of the fittest
massive
reigns supreme
most gladiatorial of
all festivals of galactico
those about to do
do salute
load of their shoulders
now no stupid
qualifying
the algorithm determines
and (above all) relegation free
giving the people
the fans
exactly what
they have been told to want
(who says you can’t get
exactly what
we want?)
no boring overthink
of structures, formations,
systems, tactics
in fact no such thing
as tactics at all
the numbers
determine
FOOTPRINT
your brain is
suffering the side effects
of El Nino
there is too heavy a
carbon footprint in
the cerebral cortex
fossil fuel deposits
there are there but
should not be
touched
until fossilized further
but the whole can be used
just like camera to get
critical snapshots
so we can do a cross
and longitudinal section
analysis
to determine what
across a lifeless mental desert
are the
climate change short
and
long-term effects
HE SAYS
he says
I should write a poem
about war
against genocide
given what
is currently
going down
he has a point
but for me poetry
is about inner
landscape
self-
exploration
the sweet words uncovering
what it means
to have feeling
in a world
where everything that
had meaning
totally
gone
LIKE IT
I like it when
even
in full flow
(the joy
of flow)
you catch exactly
how your
mind works
how it all works
have your
self-reflexive
meta moment
finish the poem
with its special twist
and the Universe
(whether it is
real or
simulation)
smiles and
welcomes you
to postmodernity.
CONJUNCTION
I am writing
a poem
and the world is fucked.
I am writing a poem
but
the world
is fucked
I am
writing a poem
however, although,
the world
is
fucked
am writing
notwithstanding, despite,
in outright opposition to
the
world
being fucked.
I am writing a poem,
have written a poem,
just trying to establish
the precise conjunction.
QUESTION MARK
thank you
for not inviting me
to your
prestigious event
not up
to your level
I think I get
the message
we poetic bottom-
feeders must
take what
we can get
but is it not
“true”, by
definition that
anything appearing
on this stage
part
of this show
is horribly compromised,
by no means
capable of
doing
what words
should do?
HOMEWORLD
a lot of tourists
came to our planet
behaved despicably
threw their weight around
(which in the case
of creatures from gas giants
could be truly immense)
worst of all, as to be expected,
were the various species
of humanoids
and worst of these
were this truly abhorrent
species
from a planet called Earth
who gave us no choice
but to strike at their Homeworld
and eviscerate their leaders
since it is in the nature of
this species to choose as
their leaders the greediest
and most depraved
and insensible amongst them
without which
we calculated
this species had a future
might have
some kind of chance
ANIMAL
animal
you call me
an animal
so now I think I know
where this leads
think I know
where
I stand
somewhere in
that dark privileged space
it is an insult to
biology
to call a brain
thoughts of the tried
and trusted: turning me
into soap, lampshades, fertilizer
maybe
I should just
shapeshift
out of your way
or maybe
shapeshift inside you
do what
animals do
helo you redefine
your notion of horror
QUEEN OF
INTROSPECTION
dainty
delicate
I read your words and
am proud to
tell you
you are
my Queen of
introspection
so go to
the podium
get your
award
thank your
agent, your parents,
your minister
at the Church and
above all
He
who created you
without which
this award-winning poetry
with all its
soft
soft
words
would
not exist