…
did the shoot really shoot
like a rascal blowing peas?
or is the shoot forced out
kicking like a drum
major marching on
as march is where the hare
boxes with their silhouette
maybe martians watch us all?
sound is bound in time
& from the thawing ground
goes another gasp
clasping at this foginess
wave with phantom hands
write us all a postcard
too soon like the moon
light reflects the sun’s smile
( ? )
…
…
another garbled essay on
the nature of the essayist
a list of all the dreamer’s lists
or how your marbles vanished
a song about the songs we sang
…
…
margeret of anjou never
rummaged through your wheelie bins
no visigoth ever
misgendered your labradoodle
my great, great, great, great grandfather
did not jump the queue
in the bakers yesterday
or ghost you on tiktok
as the past is ossified
not the cobwebs of tomorrow
but the bones of groan elsewhere
( the future’s yet unwoven )
so clive of india
did not fuse your brand new toaster
& no ancient phonecian
ever pissed on your dog roses
…
…
he’s banana skins
on footpaths on the sly
& the itching powder
in our restless underpants
he’s that jester’s hat
upon your eggy head
one side is green
& the other is red
he is the laughter
in the dogwood wood
knock, knock, knock
but no one is there – yeah
he is a puzzlesome
whiff in the air
the traffic light sprite
captain spanners
a sputtering machine
& the gum on your flip flops
the answers, my deer
are antlers on a postcard
…
…
then let’s begin
she can snap like
a terrapin
a donkey’s tail
the shirt i wore
is hairy now
a trowel – perhaps
your mouth & me
these little digs
a nettle here
a thistle there
– who’s weeding who?
it’s red ahead
with green unseen
the blue buffoon
is bellend i
both up & down
so winding then
he later wrote
a post-it note
explaining none
…
…
un pantalon
velours côtelé
as they’re known in france
…
…
back before your ghost is born
bleating like a pygmy goat
breathe another biscuit tin
kiss a swan – & dawdle on
bite another bulletin
let the morning coffee sneeze
bring a pen of burning gold
older than the bastard hills
blear another clearing here
sliding like a trombone nose
billow, if the pillow speaks
cast a net of castanets
unarrange the normalcy
every daze – the beans & we
bless id us & sun above
when forever’s floating forth
…
…
tin whistle then
the ghostly folk men
in bright white coats
scrawl this morrow
blue is the new black
unslept in sigh
why is beyond
once upon mute swans
middle eight ten
cold winter day
grey like lady jane
old shuck’s breakfast
beans in a can
the turin shroud wink?
clouds below groan
dick turpin’s neck
turns like warwick’s earl
facing the gaze
rearrange strange
faith in her water
warmer than flames
…
…
p encil shavings, plum stones
e ar muffs, eye patches
i roning boards, ice cream cones
c otton wool buds, conkers
e gg shells, elastic bands
s and paper, seventeen pence
…
…
feather dusters, feathered friends
dead ends, divs & dividends
kiss the swan & scribble on
feather dusters, feathered friends
paper tigers, paper planes
stripy cats & flying brains
roaring forms on soaring sheets
paper tigers, paper planes
apple presses, apple carts
sticky digits, treacle tarts
haunted orchards, misted us
apple presses, apple carts
power showers, power naps
sunday snoring, thinking caps
‘morning all’ the curtain calls
power showers, power naps
undercover, underpants
second suns & dancing ants
clutter, clatter – down but up
undercover, underpants
kitchen dressers, kitchen sinks
cheeky like a statue’s winks
on the sly with you in lieu
kitchen dressers, kitchen sinks
…
resarf poetry 