Now he is not who he says
he is, and I want to warn
them all, but maybe it’s just
that I’m seeing something
that’s not there, reading cards
that aren’t even face-up
on the table.
I’ve never even been good
at card games.
the way she says
room
makes me think rum
I’m sure she means
to be proper
but she’s just biting
at my alcoholic
stomach
You could say I’m the pawn
of my own sick game,
but I wrote the rules. I
know where the book is, I
move the game piece, I
know what the end of the
board looks like.
what are parents thinking
these days?
a baby named raspberry
should be small, round,
and purple,
squeezable, and growing
on a thorn-sharp vine.
I explore myself and my limits
and come to the screaming end
unsure of what it is I have found.
Worked as efficient and dependable
as freshly oiled clock wheels
and happened every afternoon
as regular as the work
these wheels tick-tocked for.
Coming devastatingly on time
and following a similar structure
and pattern as cardiac arrests.
A small one around 3pm
followed by a bigger
more sadistic (Teeth pulling!) one,
on or around 5:15pm.
At which point he downed tools
immediately, shut up shop
and retreated quickly
to the underground bunker.
Fixing in place noise cancelling
earphones upon his poor
short circuiting head
and a blackout mask
over tired, strained eyes.
Then he would sit in a rocking chair,
imagining the gentle sounds
of a midnight, deserted seashore.
Whilst sucking but never chewing
exactly one and a half bags of wine gums,
each individual colour at a time.
And smoking Rose Petal & Brandy
rolling tobacco until the storm
within his cranium teacup
had eased its way right on out of view.
More at http://paultristram.blogspot.co.uk/.
they thought
they were something
puffed up
chemical-filled
full of themselves
until the change
arrived
the seasons
shifted
then they found
themselves
flat on the rug
There’s a bit of truth
in all fiction. There’s a bit
of me in you. A bit of you
in me.
I sneeze and the universe
says, yep, I know what that’s
like.
I spread and diffuse and merge
and we all speak together
now wait
and send again
after the pen has left my hand
after you know my mind
and I divine our cafeteria order
hold for a moment
and set the page
with my hand on yours
this time begins again
now
and then
now
and then
I can see you leaving
as you arrive
More at http://www.robindunn.com.
It’s honest to God the best
interview I’ve ever seen, people
pawing over a new piece
of tech, rolling it in their hands
like a joint and cooing like doves.
The last person interviewed sealed
the deal. Underneath her wide brim
straw hat, there was no face, only a sound
coming out,
describing how she needed a new phone.
Just perfect.