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Eyes Opened
A flat square of greyed, corner- curled plywoodNailed to the end of a thick poleStaked into the herb bedDiced bacon, toast crumbsMorsel of old appleSeeds, pieces of nutA shard of coconut hung by stringWarm in teddy print pyjamasFace still pillow-creasedI watch them feed as I eatAutumn chill,Folded into school uniform (again)Lying on my backOn the →
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Winners
In this postcode people don’t need to enterThe National LotteryThe Euromillions drawEl GrossoThey’ve already won enoughIn life’s bingo, They have ticked off the numbers on the cardWealthy parentsPrivate educationIntroductions and referencesInherited propertyLand in trustTips and winks on sharesThey started off a few rungs up the ladderSo take great careTo avoid treading on snakesPrevent snakes getting →
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What Brought Us Here
We sit hereOn a memorial benchBeneath the line of ancient beechThat stands strong along the ridgeWhat brought us hereChoices? Fate?Buzzards spiral high aboveFinding lift upon a thermalOne, then two, a third appearsTheir cries pierce April’s shocking blueWhile they scour the farm belowFor rabbit, toad, mouse, small fowlWe sit and watchWithout a wordKnowing nothingOf the life →
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Misunderstanding Blues
The mortician stood by the slabRed-eyed from working lateThe mortician looked so wearyShe had been called up from her bedIt was the witching hourWhen she was called out by the sergeant on the caseI drove until first light in my VolkswagenI’d had a call from the local policeThrough icy fog I drove that vehicleWithout stopping →
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First Bus Out of St Louis
I am the passengerAnd I cry and I cryI cry through the day’s black sideI see the last bars pour out at fiveYeah, when neon lights the skyYou know when nothing looks rightI am the passengerI’ve emptied my last glassI look into your soul, absence of lightI see the bars kick out at fiveI see →
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rock, paper
friendshipcan come from many placesa teacher’s seating plana workplacea regular bus queuea space on a football terraceit outlaststhe jobeducationthe commutethe matchthe seasonnothing will lastso longas friendshipdo not ever confuseyour friendshipwith other thingslike businessor lustor alcoholnothing will lastso wellas friendship~n.b. NaPoWriMo 2025 Day 17 prompt: friendship CLP 17/04/2025 →
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Prayer
Oh perpetually pugnacious people of this planetPrepare to make the supposedly impossible possiblePurge all pandering to past prejudicesPurge all previously held political positionsSimply place your person in the predicament of your purported opponentPrepare for peace~n.b. To dream the impossible might just make it possible. This poem is prompted by NaPoWriMo 2025 Day 15 CLP 15/04/2025 →
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Music of The Christmas Tree Monoculture
There is no birdsong hereThe only light comesIn the precious minutesAt dawn and again at duskWhen the planet’s rotationBrings the Sun to the horizonAnd its beams splay outBeneath the dense conifer spreadWhere the wind orchestratesAn arrhythmic swish and hissOf Norwegian Spruce needlesBroken only by swathes of silenceThis mournful brushingIs relentless as the wavesOn the eastern →
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Gernika: Wiederholungszeichen
Somewhere a Palestinian Picasso daubs a canvasOr chisels stoneNeedles coloured thread through linenScribbles out a poemScratches notes onto stavesAs fragments of shells are pickedFrom the hands and feetThe crown and sideOf the freshly crucified~n.b. NaPoWriMo 2025 combining art and music in poetry. Gernika April 1937, twinned with Gaza, April 2025. CLP 13/04/2025 →
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Symphony of Apasmara / Ignorance
AllegroAll is newSparklesColours brightThe goldfinches’ chitteringFills my headI dance, runLeap like a lambLife’s a gambolOh! Joy of birthPerpetual SpringSuch happinessInnocenceBlissAndanteNow?No!I’m happyDo not want toGrowKeep that awayI’ll growlBarkHide in shadowsFrom your knowledgeWhy tie me downTo learning?When I can playUnencumberedBy understandingScherzoCome then, “Teacher”Yahboo!Sucks!Catch meIf you canI’ll miss the busTurn up late for classBunk from schoolListen to cricketOn →