Liberté, Égalité, Humanité
flying with brothers and sisters
screams of joy
uncontrollable giggles
screaming with brothers and sisters
pained by absence
collapsed in holes of grief
uncontrollable brothers and sisters
scoured by loss
wandering like orphaned kittens
absence of brothers and sisters
~
CLP 15/06/2021
there is sadness in empty time
marked by irreversible movement
of hands that cannot be rewound
tracking in relentless orbit
forward, forward, forward
not noticing the swallow on the hedge
not pausing at the sparkling brook
not hearing the rustle of yellow rattle
playing music in the meadow
not understanding this is it
that here might be happiness
~
CLP 10/06/2021
absence of presence
bottle; long-term substitute
happiness of toes
~
CLP 01/05/2021
timing was never more important
than opportunity when hungry
we ate out, or would grab something
maybe just an amuse-bouche
at the bus shelter, a first course perhaps
irrespective of weather
because hungry is no respecter of climate
we always ate together
we rarely went without without
in sun, the rain, the snow
until naturally our routines began to drift
into more regular meal routines
before economy and fate peeled us apart
eventually
I returned one midnight
to oranges, not as a ravenous teenager
body craving any food or fruit every hour
these midnight oranges were rarer
at first a self-indulgent treat
until our segmentation complete
meant for awhile midnight oranges
were the only food
that I had to eat
~
n.b. NaPoWriMo 2021 Day Twenty Two prompt: metonymy – midnight oranges. Good luck looking that up.
~
CLP 22/04/2021
Are these people showing off about not having Covid, or has the local sub-editor got a sick sense of humour, riffing on the vulnerability of olfactory and gustatory senses in these coronavirus times?
Here, there is a growing feeling of cabin fever mixed with de-mob happiness. Is the prima donna yet ready for la grande finale?
~
CLP 23/03/2021
This hulk retains buoyancy despite it all, but to what end? Is remaining afloat enough? Is there still life in this wreck?
~
CLP 18/03/2021
It’s driving me bats
stuck inside, hanging around
our world upside down.
~
CLP 12/03/2021
It has a name, but
where the hell are we heading?
And how’d we get here?
~
CLP 11/03/2021
In your deepest sleep
I woke to my own heartbeat
listened for your breath
~
CLP 15/01/2021
Memorable year
One I would rather forget
Finally ends here
~
CLP 31/12/2020
