( ? )

monkey country

~

monkey country ( yrtnuoc yeknom )

…

jungles of oak

mountain ash or rowan

      orchards where we grow

      the money that we squirrel

nuts & bananas

both are common currency

      barter with aplomb

      swinging hairy arms

where the green is green

& the queen’s a lemur

      north west of frogland

      east of hobbit island

we, the simian folk

in this monkey country

      sing until the sun shines

      under earl grey skies

stirring rhesus blood

gibbons in glamorgan

      tamarins in manchester

      marmosets in derby

blue baboons at troon

with their balls in the dunes

      shakespeare came

      from our collective chatter

in between tea breaks

typed in a castle

      a bolthole cottage

      or a new build mews

breeding when we’re not

spanking ourselves

      spreading like the pox

      on the nine o’ clock snooze

…

middle may not march

~

middle may not march ( hcram ton yam elddim )

…

red shepherd sunrise

warning the morning

      sights for sore iris

      & drooping bluebell

ends in beginnings

bring your own picnic

      pencils in cases

      pythagorean

glistening magpies

pied like a wagtail

      pipers inside us

      miming the high notes

playing the rhubarb

fooling the pudding

      pissing the parcel

      fluttering butter

spring is a fucker

further’s a murmur

      chasing a sun day

      whistle a willow

walking in warbles

spooling in cagoules

      piriton’s flashbacks

      sneezing the pastures

yes is a nomad

walk upon england

      blake is awakened

      so sod the machine

newton is sleeping

twofold’s a thistle

      beulah beckons

      & god save the green

…

cee the light

~

cee the light ( thgil eht eec )

…

catfish catalyst

cosmonauts canoodle

custard caribou

…

( author notes )

there’s a nasty rumour

doing the rounds

online at the moment

so to put the record straight

no

the queen of england

is not ninety six years old

because phillip schofield

is only sixty

plus he doesn’t look a day

over fifty seven and a half

– so leave it

…

rush owls

~

rush owls ( slwo hsur )

…

tawny owls racing
with the morning hare

quicker than lightning
striking the air

barn owls in fast cars
stuck in solid jam

screeching at the lights
& the broken down tram

eagle owls at taxi ranks
jumping the queue

barging passed the frogmouths
& the nightjars too

little owls in pickles
late for the train

snowy owls sleeting
dashing in the rain

…

cough up

~

cough up ( pu hguoc )

…

the fiver you borrowed
in crocodile times

last supper’s bay leave’s
& fish finger bones

the smoke that we choke
when london burns again

sputters of dust
in the attics of our minds

a persian furball
the wager that waned

twenty two guineas
& a shilling in change

the chewing gum you found
on the sole of your shoe

a thousand pound fine
for kissing a gnu

remnants of the ‘rona
scamdemic afterglows

for hardcore zealots
& big pharma jihadists

a tip for the waiter
instead of see y’ later

& a greeny green frog
croaking of tomorrows

…

poets of purple twilight

~

poets of purple twilight ( thgiliwt elprup fo tseop )

…

slither, garden snake
alexandrite underling
as the stars awake

glisten with y’ ears
regal squealers ink of she
her seventy years

patching piffle’s shat
plodding paths of this ‘n’ that
in a wanker hat

pen of heather skies
clumps of fluffy amethyst
another sun dies

knot the dim of day
nature is the monarch of
geminis in may

greet the even’ breeze
scribble piffle lullabies
on lavender leas

…

poetry sale now on

~

poetry sale now on ( no won elas yrteop )

…

buy one haiku

get two free

      whether they’re wanted

      or not

sonnets come

with a fifteenth line

      & it’s gratis

      thank us later

pay with pens

or magic beans

      now accepting

      metaphors

if they’re not too

worn or ropy

      & they don’t smell

      pickled onion

bargain bins

are brimming sweetly

      dulciter

      so say the romans

scan the shelves

of ditty discounts

      vilanelles

      & senyru too

fifty percent

extra on limericks

      so seven & a half

      lines for five

odes are going

for a swansong

      everything that flows

      must glow

…