photography

another lost poem

…

~

yesterthen’s scribbles

went elsewhere

like your uncle after

~

the operation went wrong

since is not a song

or even in key

~

croaks the morning pheasant

& big bo peep

– little’s older sister

~

retracing steps

the sort that fingers make

is fruitless indeed

~

like a greengrocer

that only sells veg

so even no tomatoes

~

oh, where art thou?

huffs the pen – like a cow

herd in an unhaunted farmhouse

~

darker than before

it’s not in your notepads

or stuffed in your desk drawers

~

sputum & dust then

another lost poem

missing – presumed immortal

…

stuck on the sky

…

black velcro crows

      yes, it’s one of those

stuck on the sky

      lost in my true

highness of the welkin

      fridge magnet alphabet

cotton wool water

      rubbing like balloons

look at those weirdos

      floating in sweet blueness

we’re upon the meadows

      over earthly clover

in medieval hoodies

      longer than a raincoat

not the latest smear

      steering clear of drizzle

gawping for britannia

      mooning with the moon

this is how the clouds grey

      but mayfly live forever

gulliver’s ghost

      is a bright white pigeon

nature is my second

      cousin twice removed

…

all clued out

…

the pebble in your left
orthopaedic shoe
& rain last tuesday

a certain afterglow
in the sunset’s curtains
when we both squint

plus the cataracts
in the glass eyes
of the blind mortician

or the sparrows nesting
in the west wing
of the matron’s beard

the gnomes in the garden
that wink when we blink
perfectly in sync

like the lipstick smeared
on the vestigal nipple
of the bishop’s catamite

are all redder
than a blushing herring
square one beckons us back

…

index left

…

unscattered ashes
catch the last drift home
bones unbroken

all’s unaching
nor a restless tingle
when breakfast calls

take another gulp
swallow like a summer
while the tealights dance

dunce in the mist
nouns becoming verbs
shine like the plough

pow & kerblam
power nap slang man
index left

cleft fist this
voles, vowels & barn owls
scanning your barcode

say cheese & sneeze
odin sesame
dawn chorus horus

…

glossary-esque

…

plus extra petals
syntax, saddle wax
speaking of shapes

croaking crocus
almost sing hymns
eight hundred pigeons

gatherings of steam
clutching vapour’s trails
stainless steel moon

spit shoonerisms
tea spoon sputum
blue room ceiling

sixty six turnips
peeling & revealing
while giants snore

dawn redwood
snorkels, trucks, rucksacks
nut sacks & scratching

catching & hatching
tenfold the troubadours
chapter seventeen

…

for all the tarts in bakewell

…

for all the rice in china
& the teachers sniffing glue

for all the burp in pardon
& the sneeze in atishoo

for all the fish in finland
& the zebras in the zoo

for all the gnomes in gardens
& the domes in xanadu

for all the sage in derby
& the waves upon the sea

for all the haze in maybe
& the mist in mystery

for all the crook in coppers
& the madness of cuckoo

for all the tarts in bakewell
& for all their pastries too

…

( author notes )

for those that don’t know
bakewell is a town in the derbyshire dales
& a sweet tart – called a bakewell tart
comes from there too

plus sage derby is a cheese

but i’m not a fan of poets
explaining everything in their author notes
so let’s leave it there

…