MEDUSA
stared into
the face of suffering
your
hard suffering
that turns
to stone
turned me
to stone
relief to
my soft
suffering
equality in
the transaction
turning us
both
to stone
and they we were
amongst, what she
we call them
that
host of statues,
perhaps effigies?
but there you are
reptilian, murderous,
no crown
of thorns to adorn
only headdress of vipers
spitting, writhing,
their eyes
trying to make sense
of my pity
my sorrow
only thing to
match
your anger
blow for blow
run with your wrath
JIMA TRUMP
Iwo Jima Trump
planting the stars
and stripes
on closest thing
on Greenland
vaguely
resembling Mt Suribachi
garnering Peace Prize, Medal
of Valour, and
Purple Heart
in one
fell swoop
Vance and Rubio
there
to reload him
feed
him ammunition
Donald J D-
day overlord
of glory
MAGA disciples’ delight so
ecstatically high
all of them
self-
pleasuring themselves
everywhere,
the sexy swine
hot jizz melting
the ice sheath, turning
this arctic island
basically
as sweaty tropical a paradise
as Mar-a- Lago
O AMANDA
Oh Amanda,
I have you
in twenty
twenty hindsight
gone
totally
retrospective
just to
see
just how
badly you
recited us
how much not
just off key
off track
but mistaking
the climate
leading us off
in the wrong
direction
not climbing
the hill but
on death
descent down
the mountain
you there inspiring us
with hope, false hope
stuff
of bad ideology
in your sun yellow dress
beautifully assured
and
battling down
those slopes it was
all ice,
all winter, death
by exclusion, excision,
by bullets
through
the side
window at
point blank range
and the house
on the hilk with
its shining city
hoisting
an old hated, feared flag,
as bulldozers knock
down
and everything gets
restructured
need space for
the ritz whilst
homeless
go hungry
ghouls at the ball, macabre
how much space
they need
to dance and
twirl
and plot human structure
should have been
severe on yourself before
flaunting your
skills
before us
Miss Gorman,
should have checked
your subtext for
masquerade
and so
why should we climb
that hill
since we can buy one
elsewhere
greener, cheaper
take one out there
for ourselves
we write good poetry,
exceptional lines really
that
nothing
can compare with
the sun setting on that hill,
your hill
suddenly
I smell abyss
and feel the slippery slide
INCOMPLETE
there I
am
smile being
wiped off my face
the huge
being wiped
off my face
always
a price to pay
wear
and tear
always
a tariff
your face
falling
shares falling
I can see me whole life
in those dips and spikes
one to one
with my
cardio rhythms
if it
is all theatre,
masquerade
lets
my soul
become
pure ego
in the mirror
up on the screen
brash and burnished
over-inflated over
extended
dog day in
day out
dusk to
dawn derided
sad sack of a case
could not
be more
incomplete
UPON US
outside, in no time,
the rock heroes
were pitching into
new and
old school philosophers
meanwhile,
inside the auditorium,
a voice was straining
even to reach a whisper
to instruct me
in the art of
thinking, doing,
being
beyond all duality
and you and I,
once acolytes,
found ourselves
titanic,
possibly primal,
and
yet
distinctly
out of kilter
essence of oil
floating upon
essence
of water
two tiny boat lanterns
sailing away from each other
no hope of far shore
and outside
that battle
producing no
decisive victor
stalemate as outcome
splitting of spoils
division
of points
the stars gutted to lose
all reason to celebrate
joy in
harmonious union
triumph
of will
nothing therefore
to suggest
need for nice
sacrifice
as if
the gods even care
as if
mythology is real
and
blessing
be upon us
,
TRAJECTORY
stood on the huge iron wheel
mounted on the outside wall
of the Manchester museum
of science and technology
cops, bobbies, driving by
at my instant of transgression
so I froze in arm-outstetched pose
dead ringer for that image
sent into deep
deep space by NASA
which made me, perhaps
still makes me (with my
PhD on satire)
pretty aberrant cog
in any like-clockwork
social machine
living at that time
in the historical house
of Engels (agreeing
ever more it seems
with the raw
redness of his theme)
John Lydon and his
backing band volcanic
at that time
defining
the sensibility of
that scene
wheels spinning in
my head
anarchic thread
Confederate cotton
my people of the
mills and
steel engineering
structure, order
chaos
(fatal fractal) just
around the corner
wheel
still spinning
probable, possible
counters aligned
naughts and
crosses
binary system
in the
resolution of where I was
am my
current solid
state (super) position
heading, hurtling,
not going quietly but
like arrested protestor
kicking and
screaning
dialectic
of my trajectory
standing on that
huge iron wheel
sudden
flashback
from my future
BANQUET
welcome
to
my
banquet
as you can see,
the table has been laid
this place
reserved for you
alongside
my Muse (this
the naked
truth) and
here the wine
there
the staples,
in
another time-zone,
frame of reference,
the piece de resistance
dessert
and fruit
leave it to me
to bring
your journey
to felicitous conclusion
you leave
full belly, charmed
satisfied
though taste-wise
some of the nature of this
whole experience
liminal
verging towards
the edge of
safe and
unchallenging
delectation
BANQUET
welcome
to
my
banquet
as you can see,
the table has been laid
this place
reserved for you
alongside
my Muse (this
the naked
truth) and
here the wine
there
the staples,
in
another time-zone,
frame of reference,
the piece de resistance
dessert
and fruit
leave it to me
to bring
your journey
to felicitous conclusion
you leave
full belly, charmed
satisfied
though taste-wise
some of the nature of this
whole experience
liminal
verging towards
the edge of
safe and
unchallenging
delectation
WAKE UP CALL
a breath of fresh air
if only you
dare
open your window
braving the fear it might
get observed
be misconstrued
read as an
attempt to escape
desperatec communication
of a plea
for freedom
freeze frame fractal
cosmic longing for the sublime
breath of
fresh air, but there again
a window
poems 2 die for