~

how to kill your imaginary friends ( & get away with it scot-free ) ( (eerf-tocs to htiw yawa teg & ) sdneirf yranigami ruoy llik ot woh )

…

shoot the buggers down
with a gun-shaped hand

with invisible bullets
( sound effects optional )

whack ’em with a spade
from the shed – in y’ head

or a faux-snow shovel
blow upon blow

shrink ’em to the size
of a silverfish or fly

or imaginary ant
& stamp, stamp, stamp

startle them with boos
shock ’em ’til they drop

tickle both their elbows
with an ostrich feather

break their phantom hearts
tell ’em that it’s over

you’ve new fake friends now
& some of them are poets

bury them deep
in a ten foot hole

in the hungry woods at night time
& tell not a soul

…

( author notes )

& if you have a few spare years to fill

look into the origins of scot-free

there’s quite a few different theories out there

& they’re all adamant they’re right

but until susie dent puts her foot down

no one can say for certain

…

~

sandwich sand witch ( hctiw dnas hciwdnas )

…

hag of the desert

on & under buttered bread

magical picnic

…

~

proper gander walrus ( surlaw rednag reporp )

…

gutted after narnia

invaded ruritania

      all fawns are scum now

      & aslan is cancelled

cake sales soar

sows fly again

      as the badgers dance

      in antacid rain

right on cuneiform

flags become masks

      – or masks become flags

      ( merging like a slip road )

sloping with the scales

on the serpentine tales

      of the snooze of either sideways

      – true soothsayers

with a rowan nose

smell the dealt of all

      everyone’s forever

      see the pants in pantomimes

ants in a trance

spot the dashing dots

      blue & yellow bots

      them of banging pots

drink from the hose

on the vicar’s front garden

      gargle in reverse

      so a signet sings

be a song beyond

the feature length finale

      cut – that’s a wrap

      darling, you were wonderful

…

~

mmm aaa rrr ccc hhh ( hhh ccc rrr aaa mmm )

…

mad hares box the air
milking maids mud wrestle bears
magpies magnify

after noon – the moon
adders divide the total
antlers on postcards

rabid regarding
raspberry ripple sunsets
radish shoots rising

cotton clouds bursting
cognition in remission
cows escape from sheds

heading for the hills
hyacinth – et cetera
home in time for tea

…

~

’tis nesting season ( nosaes gnitsen sit’ )

…

larks up the stuffed arse
of a scarecrow host

settled in the crack
with straw galore

where the air is warming
up the incubator

snipes take a nap
in a hiker’s knapsack

caw, there’s a jackdaw
on a cooling tower

chaffinches with gathered twigs
on the brass band’s stand

pied wagtails
inside a postbox

widgeons under wigs
of judges in the courthouse

one quack for innocent
two for boil alive

noisy oyster catchers
at it in the attic

ten thousand barn owls
in the garden shed

goshawks & auks
flapping in your head

pigeons in me cuckoo clock
coo & crack anew

…

~

catkin litter ( rettil niktac )

…

riddle middle toe
intermittent galaxies
knickers in the mist
see the river twist

float a boat ‘n’ row
be the bats in batteries
’til the don’t’s a do
grab a pew ‘n’ phew

adders calypso
cantaloupes ‘n’ canopies
grasses gleam away
green’s the future’s hay

bluer bugles blow
pheasants strutting strategies
when the hawk’s a hen
then the rest’s a wren

all the heavens sow
melodies in maladies
once upon a swan
singing ’til it’s gone

yet the gardens glow
gargle martian fantasies
venus is a friend
kiss another end

…

~

shoo ( oohs )

…

knock knock

who’s there?

knock knock

who’s there?

knock knock – that’s muh name

not you, go away

…