looping through the moving stillness of stationed subterrania
the monotone electronic priestess calls the wistful waverers
she owns these leaden canyons sprayed and calls out its vice
mask-blinged the faithless armed only with an oyster
are gently tongue-lashed within the weaving cobra vessels
wear your mask or face the consequences
only leave your home for essential blah blah..
..imagine hitler..
or something like that..
lucky for me i seem to be on essential blah blah..
and lucky for hitler he died peacefully in south america
surrounded by his loving extended nazi-to-nasa family
aided by highly placed enabling peronists
or so a few historians claim
the architects of operation paperclip must feel betrayed..
the bends in the silence star
for this sci-fi docudrama is noir de noir
i always have my earphones on
so the broadcasted admonitions pillow talk my plugged canals
a benday dot lyric slung transcient over the ambient track
such tender government threats spliced spill over aphex twin
or mogwai
or indian jazz..
so i imagine the lady of the p.a.
as she threatens to fine the non-compliant
slowly erotically
she dances the powdery blue surf
drunk on the amber sun-kissed monsoon rain
amid the perfumed evening full of jasmine candles and irises
she sings
if you are not wearing a mask
or an exemption badge
we may ask you to leave the train..
..so will you marry me
i caught you smiling shyly near the tea stall
the marriage season will soon be over you know
my family have lined up many suiters
my family are quite traditional
so the groom must wear a mask
come dance with me at the all-night disco
no need to ask..
cue interlacing drumnbass sitar solo..
when a child i absolutely hated the bbc show blue peter
how now i wish i had paid more attention
especially when the presenter taught step by step
how to make an exemption badge
from a corona bottle top
an elastic band
a busted hostess trolley wheel
and the inevitable vial of glitter
not forgetting a tube of compressed dead horses for glue
..ask your mum before you borrow her plaster of paris..
..but you do not need her fondue set to make this..
and why not ask your father if you may borrow his knife
his least favourite home-made balaclava
and a safe hammer..
back then
if you returned the empty corona bottle to the shop
you would receive up to five pence reward
and a neighbour had a dad who delivered corona in his lorry
and he sometimes gave us free corona
and at christmastime
added a little egg nog or cinzano bianco or martini..
i must have been at least eight or nine and around this time
i had fantasies of being a corona delivery driver
if only then i had known corona in the twenty-first century
would be most efficiently delivered by plane
maybe i would have become a pilot
any time any place anywhere..
anciently the corona logo was seven bottles fanned into a crown
because apparently corona is latin for crown
soft drink manufacturers must have studied latin back then i guess
i wonder what is latin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
i wonder what is latin for
this drink is also good for clearing drains
comprehensive education never taught us such esoteric things..
perhaps i already know but have forgotten
because when younger i drank too much corona
i now suffer from attention deficit.. oh what was i saying..
shaken out of my reverie by a man asking for change
i nod in agreement
change would be great..
confused he asks me again
do you have any change
i look up again
yeah in the next few months
we will have a brand new and more deadly variant
the antarctic variant
those penguins never respect social distance
so we will be asked to wear two female panties on our face
instead of one
that is okay by me i need a new hobby
i must remember to add this hinterland to my linkedin
this unique selling point might give me added value..
oh and we might be asked to take a booster every year
so there
change..
sorry that is all i have..
he says thank you sir..
and i say no problem
they are all in it together
consoling us that we are all in it together..
the station stops or is it the train
the doors open then close
and a couple enter
they sit directly opposite me
early twenties would be my guess
pilgrims venturing to a secret gathering in a warehouse
covid-secure on whats app
a doorman will stamp its hand
and a remote mark zuckerberg
will dance his glass skin on skin right beside them so tight..
their nineties parents back in their day
might have danced in the same warehouse
they may also have worn masks
for play..
the guy holds a bottle of vodka
or maybe mineral water
he pulls his mask down
then lifts the bottle over to her lips
so she pulls her mask down
she takes an elegant swig
he then takes a gulp
places his mask back on his face
she then kisses his masked lips
before putting her mask back on..
the couple grin at one another then swap masks
and share a laugh
ah true love has beat the rona again
more power to them..
our station stops for our train..
my track changes to the live version of sleepers awake
the platform vocalist is male
stand on the right of the escalator..
..keep your distance..
..for essential journeys only..
who is that unmasked man
who is that masked penguin..
the couple race up the escalator hand in hand
and zig-zag through the long-descended high-viz fog
like mice through a ghost..
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