TIME WAS
Gary
is out
of step
time was
he used
to dance
around
defenders
but not these
defenders
gatekeepers
of the realm
nothing
gets past them
he shall not
pass or dribble
through them
the refs have given them
absolute right
to hack him down.
ONE ONE
Gary has scored!
Gary has equalized against
this team from the thirties
he spun, hit his shot and
it went in on
the rebound after
taking a deflection
but now they say
he should stick to
punditry, stick
to scoffing crisps
and they want the goal
disallowed, they demand
a recount
insist there must
be a referendum
on the decision from VAR
so Gary’s goal will be disallowed
and what sinks must carry on sinking
there are wave machines
to sort this out
and full fan hatred
shouting singing.
RABID
the rabid ones
Pavlov’s charmed children
the colour of their blood
indeterminate
all cloned to recite
ad nauseam the same
sad soul-destroying
excuse
for a human idea
FIRST STRIKE
aliens havs taken control
of Parow library
they are using their plasma
weapons to take out
all the poetry
classic novels and
books of philosophy
there were
not so many
but all are now gone
this alien high command
circling the northern suburbs
in their mothership
are openly
celebrating as
a titanic victory
the human race needs
to be even more unread
dull unimaginative
and stupid
to become the compliant
servants and slaves
the great
alien think tanks
are convinced we can be
ODDS ON
bet you
don’t encounter
too many wobbly
xenomorphs
out there
coming here to conquer
and convert you
teach you
the truth
of their
unbalanced philosophy
so many equivalences between
our worlds and cultures
including our deep
religious faith
in four-
lane highways and
reality
TV the black hole of
consumption we
were created to be
THE GODS OF FOOTBALL
the gods of football
turned against us
they scripted our defeat
up there, in the stars
No. They didn’t.
I checked with them
and they swore that
they hadn’t bothered to watch
were much
more interested in
the Burrow/Mahomes match up
than teams committing suicide
via the failed execution
of a diabolically bad plan
MUPPET
as Niner fans go
I’m a real muppet
(must be one
to think we would
get
to the Superbowl,
the fourth quarter
of our
last visit
firmly behind us)
so call me a muppet
— go on, trumpet that truth
(truth of
your perspective
as you
limitedly see it)
leave me in my cuddly
muppet comfort zone
believing my eyes
and the logic
of analysis
so many fans here bandying
it around
at every opportunity:
muppet muppet muppet
were that they
could have such charm,
wit and
be that
cuddlesome
(or meet
a muppet of
power that might
tear
off their heads)
GENIUS
who can
stand up to us
when we got genius?
genius here
demanding
sacrifice of blood
and elbow bone
in slavish following of plan
the plan everything in
its true brilliance
pity
they don’t buy into it
those eagles swooping
soaring
high overhead
SNEER
sneer is
your only word
your best word
the word that burns
all the style out of
your mouth
when you are it
when you speak it
when wholesale
you happen to caricature yourself
assume the brash
biology of a lurid cartoon
MONETIZE
monetize
demonize
I am
writing a new thesaurus
looking for
a common denominator
even as you
wait in the shadows
crumbling
to dust
once wondering but
now given your answer
as to
how it is
all going to
end
poems 2 die for