Imaginary Friend

 

and there
right there beside you
beside you while passing this strange fairground land
the shadow-blending play arcs a spectrum of light
the presence there from the vast somewhere 
the grain the essence the flare of the imaginary friend..

there to bear arms with you in the here and tomorrow
or for while mysterious scales stay tipped
for perhaps the existential vacuum is corded
connecting reconnecting layering
reciprocating then replaying
meaning
load-bearing the real with the imaginary transcending...

you have your imaginary friend..
i have to go
i have to go..
..soon..

..and their imaginary friend
the contrail the wisp of cloud interlace..

in all the plasticity
in all the hardness
in all the contrariness
in the whole dynamic
in the loss
in the broken bond shock
in the confusion at the discord
in the heartache still beating to an echo of a once syncopated time
in the imaginary friend the imaginary friend..

the imaginary friend
the imaginary friend wept as you wept
their firm touch
the flesh your corrugated angel felt
through and through
the bracing ocean breeze ozone
the gold
the entre nous secrets
the dark humour in those soft stones
now here bygone..

the imaginary friend
some adults grow out of it
in deeper space catch themselves
wondering who
wondering what they were
what gifts..

laid low reflective as clear as a bell
chiming the minor chords of burst bubble-time struck angular
forlorn pressed against the vast
as a certain comet once near passes
offering a generous peacock display of ice and dust-trail fireworks..

shared conversations confidences the concord
and the oz-effect of that silence so listening
so breathing
so present
so being
the alone so entangled..

Point Of Entry

 

sitting quietly still
watching the scenery roll by
like a fleshed-out studio production
with accompanying wobbly vaudeville piano
a ski-slope slide..

the passers-by
a character study
who am i..

tufts of tumbleweed rain
another piece of scenery
windows eyes..

the scenery performs all by itself
observe
consciousness is not a spreadsheet
the fade-to-vivid..

every mundane second
silvery
one hallmark of full-blown sobriety
the intense psychedelia of the ordinary
an appreciation appearing to appear on..

i tie ribbons to a few strands of shredded drizzle
stark and saturated and striking
a guitar solo for abandoned new warehouses
the enigmatic open smile of a crumpled car bonnet
an adagio of ignored alarms
the swelling silence blows a candle..

i disappear into this
the nothing
something more than an upended zero
more than rolling green fields
living cat-dragged pedigree luminous
like a newly abandoned lover
the flat grey city plains unfold
valleys
vast ticking seconds
the weird of human..

watering reflections
water reflections
poetry with impunity
poetry without direction
so effortless
gently points..

 

The Indignantee

 

only the other day
yours truly again had to listen
listen to the tired old argumentation
about why tony blair should be stripped
stripped of his well-deserved knighthood
can you believe it..

the indignantee was puce of skin and word
livid and burning pomegranate
grim with righteous anger
a self-combusting human pamphlet
how is it that tony blair has been made a sir
i signed a petition
a petition..
and yet he is still enjoying his knighthood
what am i missing..

most of the time i am a quiet and patient man
but on this rare occasion i had to be the contrarian
and with a slightly raised voice i replied
my good man
know this
you will never amount to be even a thirty-third
a thirty-third of the man that tony blair is..

tony blair served the crown in ways that you can only dream of
have you..
selflessly gifted tax-payer checks to the military industrial complex
or declared war on a noun to usher in our beloved surveillance state
or help eliminate another half-a-million iraqi men and  women and children
to quote madeleine albright before him
..a price worth paying..
it would not hurt to show some gratitude
gratitude for such sacrifices that he helped make
for the crown
now go away and eat some yellowcake..

Should The Magistrate Go Straight To A Potato

 

surprising even herself she coyely confessed 
this is the first time i have ever seen someone do that with a potato
colour me impressed
and i cannot believe i am about to admit 
i want to try it out for myself
i desire to do it now right now 
right now
i feel a pressing urge
but i have to go to the supermarket first
for needs must..

then she stopped dead in her tracks and enquired
…but what kind of potato can do that
i mean is there a difference between a king edward and..
what about organic
it sounds silly but should i first talk to it
or rub it gently like a genie a lamp
i am a married woman so i will not stroke it
i just cannot bring myself to do something like that
not yet..

she giggled
of course i am only joking
i jest
i am not really married..

i just cannot bring myself to stroke a potato
maybe one day yes
but not just yet
i need to upgrade my potato-rubbing skill-set first
take it slowly and deliberatively step by step
yes i feel a bit of a lemon
at school i never took potato-rubbing classes for lemons..
she giggled again..

ah lemons..
and what about lemons
should i train with lemons first
or because lemons are different to potatoes
somewhat like apples are to oranges
lemons are not potatoes i think i mean..

or is it more like comparing daffodils with puffins
or is comparing lemons to potatoes
with apples to oranges
with daffodils to puffins
as silly as comparing or even contrasting the yeti
to a merengue to the loch ness monster
i hope that makes sense..
she said apologetically..

but what if the loch ness monster is a baby boomer
a baby boomer loch nes monster
who still owns a hostess trolley and a working fondue set
or am i now being very silly
this is so unlike me
honestly this is so unbelievably unlike me
i am still a magistrate
i need to remind myself that i am still a magistrate
in a medium-size town with ungodly dark edges..

and correct me if i am wrong
but a fondue set cannot make a merengue
or can it
should it
i really should know this..
she admonished herself..

she rubbed her own chin thoughtfully then pressed on
in other words
would even rubbing a lemon help me with a potato
and although i have never stroked a daffodil or a puffin
just supposing i had
just supposing i had stroked a daffodil or a puffin
or even only lightly rubbed one discreetly at arms-length
could i then go straight to a potato
or would the lemon thing still be best to start off with..

so to recap from rubbing to stroking
should i rub a daffodil then a puffin then a lemon then a potato
or should i go straight to the potato without touching a lemon
i underline
rubbing not stroking
please understand
i have my limits..

also i must ask
what kind of lemons are most like potatoes
and as importantly
what kind of lemons are least like potatoes
for example
i have eaten lemon-flavoured potatoes
but yet to have even once had a potato-flavoured lemon
do potato-flavoured lemons even exist in our world
she gazed to the heavens for a sensible answer
well maybe in russia..

she pondered
my goodness this has become so involved and so confusing
if you had told me only this morning
that i would be talking earnestly with you
about potatoes puffins lemons and daffodils and loch ness monsters
yetis fondue sets hostess trolleys baby boomers and meringues
i probably would never have believed you..

but perhaps..
but perhaps as you seem like such a decent gentleman
i probably would have
nothing is simple is it
but there it is
life is always so full of surprises
and i a middle age woman
who in one particularly memorable and carefree teenage year
enjoyed the stone roses storm their delightful signature set at wigan pier..

Hum The Colours Hum Silence

 

peeking through gaps of closed bedroom curtains
sunbeam shards tint projecting
for the haze a planetarium filter
screening the dust mote constellation fluttering
above my head arcing circling scintillating..

below the ceiling yet somehow higher
slowly twirling pastels swirl..ever so..
almost an angel dust moonbow
or a suspended-in-air giant snail shell
rolling rotating
inviting my upward gaze..

a levitating question mark
of opalescent golden elfin strands
waves of gentle glinting topaz
honeycomb my brushed eyelashes enchantment..

i laze on the bed likening
and wordlessly pondering what connections
as the constellation envelops
folding rising
expanding
dissolving
morphing its wonder
and a small moth helicopters anthracite
enticed to explore
flitting across this swatch of cosmos
faster than the speed of light could fling..

approach
i close my eyes
the light being the silence
studded with creamy copper-tone stars
fall on the bed sheets and land and
enthroned colours hum inside my eyelids
unheard-of..

The Stream, Anciently..

 

the days of the poison pen letter
ink
accusations
ad hominum cross examination
crossings out
smudges
torn photographs attached neatly with a red paperclip
angry asterisked notes in the margin
i will never forgive you for the vodka/bacardi incident never..
one-paragraph-a-page terseness
that florid concision
the seal of a cigarette burn on the page
the mosquitos of ash and a proverb
no need to reply
the return address on the envelope
you can still wish me a happy birthday
is that not the least you can do
exclamation mark question mark..

the days of the love letter
ink
musings
crossings out
smudges
pencilled illustrations
perfume-scented 
asterisked notes in the margin
explanation
the strange apology and the yearning
no need to reply
no need to say anything
just wanted you to know how i still feel
though i know you know
so here i am again just counting down the days
before i have you all to myself again
suggestions for suggestions..

the days of unfolding..

Grin Reapered

 

oh how he aches to be a part of something
something truly momentous in human history
something to be remembered for millennia..

well lucky for him
the biggest bomb ever
will soon flatten him into oblivion with his entire city..

Yoga Of Ostrich

 

from the vantage point of the ostrich
saturated
collaged
curated
head in the ground searching for the origin point
of the rainbow shine
the mind bubbling bent from light..

from the vantage point of the ostrich
shepherded
parcelled
distributed
undulated on the unrolling 
ambience subterranean wave machine engineers provide..

here the battalions of ostriches are
slugged by crabs alluring siren songs
to search under the sand starless
and lying here their astrologers and astronomers are..

here the ostriches stand
protruding asses extrude slanty aerials
stay informed and trust the plan
here clawing laser pens the ostriches stand..

from the vantage point of the ostrich
triggered
enraged
reconfigured
synchronise-dancing to the beats of the echo chamber
a seeded solid state unit awake reflexive
uplifted projecting toxic froth insensible..

the ostrich occasionally raises its head
searching for sunglasses
then gazes wide-eyed at the sun-gazers
bemused and more than a little disgusted..

Box-Fresh

 

tourniquet the unknown war widow
as flags are folded in memoriam
for soldiers popped to orphan a casket..

imposing monuments loom
the fallen autumn leaves lightly smudge
the official line signed-off and vaulted..

anthems fulsome stir solemn empty
salt the desert a vast glisten
water the lake of tears a mirage..

veiled shells succumb
struck numb clutch those photographs
polish the frame of the finger-brushed glass..

solder base metal filigree
a sapling fashioned to nail a piece of earth
posthumously decorate with box-fresh toy animals..

The Glimmer Of The Monochrome Rainbow Shine

 

self-medication
uncoils its side-venom medicine
rationing the universe of salt forlorn
imbibing its spawning spoil unawares
incisor gums inject fanged straws
anonymised in a tryst with misery
the viper strike enticement
the slick lunging kiss of a wraith
in generous sympathy
the self-medication venom oils
stays the immediate execution with the slaking palliative
once a pleasure now the chore
though in the delay
ingeniously disguised as self-preservation
floored
holds court like the ludicrous emperor
the jester and source
war paint licks..

in the numbness
the illusion sauce
glosses the barbed candyfloss rescue
the price the cost
tumbling out the matryoshka doll the trojan horse
beneath the dark light flicker
the ebb away so fleet
inside flesh out
slide rule-kindness a blindfolded
essence effortlessly debilitates..

palms wash the mirror through the face
like a veil through dry ice cold-boiled cobalt midnight
discarnate gate-crasher liminal
gaming make-believe filters
humanising the broken toy with frost
garlanding the suspension..

within the crystallising bubble
the alarm is softened
the caressing clouds avalanche a compress
slowly deceptively deliberately
rotate like lowering blade-sheathed wisps
ungrasped then grasped
as fanciful timelines coalesce
the present absences univited appear ever more apparent 
and implodes and implodes the fateful agency target..

Yet

 

whatever next
will you trust your intuition..

a prison planet
the severest test of the spirit and soul
a descension ascension
for whom earth-life tolls..

whatever next..
yet
an open heart your fortress
cosmos..
a beautiful earth..

Utopia, Incoming (The Correct Deployment Of Fluffy Towels 101)

 

First Aid At Work 2027
Scenario Test Question 9 Of 11

percy patel works in accounts by the fourth turning of the third floor
his desk sits by the east-side emergency fire exit stairwell *
you are his designated first aider..

+percy delightedly informs you that his waters are about to break
  he has gone into labour..

you only have a first aid box and a high-viz tabard
what do you do..

Best Practice Answer

firstly you would inform security/reception/or your other designated contact
to call for an ambulance immediately
your designated contact should already have been made aware
that percy is with child and expecting shortly..

and so that paramedics can be escorted directly to him
clearly identify the floor and desk number/location of percy..
..
then take four clean **fluffy towels from the person-cabinet
and put on your high-viz tabard..

how to embrace and relate..
do not be afraid to dig down deep to your unfathomable depths 
breathe deeply and lilt to a falsetto
ecstatically exclaim
make way and celebrate
make way and celebrate
stop all work
percy patel is breaking water
percy patel is having a his-baby
you may wave your arms high in the air uplifted
be in your own presence
but be careful not to accidentally punch anyone in the face=..

reassure percy that an ambulance has been sent for
and paramedics should arrive very soon..

what if percy is sweating..
you must only gently mop his fevered brow 
with the specialised moistened wipes provided
because so-called fluffy towels might scratch his skin #..

then comb both of his eyebrows in an upwardly direction
and away from the eyes..

to allow percy privacy
ask nearby staff members to please stand away and make space
dignity is power..

deploy the aloe vera testicle-guard and operate gently
watch out for stubborn pubic hair recoil..

designate a trusted colleague to fetch the backside-defibrillator
then open the first aid box for the conductive serum sachet
then to mitiagte the compressed clenched tension
squirt on your trained massage-hand generous dollops
by caressing and rubbing his backside cheeks tenderly until soft and shiny
backside cheeks should burnish like ancient bronze
see illustration..

carefully place on a non-flammable surface
a lit essential lavender oil candle
there should be one safety lighter
and one lavender oil candle provided in your first aid box..
..
to protect dignity
at two increments of thirty-three degrees
his maternity skirt should be lifted up respectfully
it might help to imagine lifting a wedding dress veil..

ensure that his gum shield is firmly fixed
and manufactured with british-standard rubber..

then and only then take the paddles of the backside-defibrillator
shout stand back
administer two shocks
wait thirty seconds
and only if the baby does not begin to appear
administer two more shocks
continue until the paramedics arrive..

 to catch the baby "
 unfold the vacuum-pack bamboo bucket
 and hold one metre above the backside
 use the purple measuring tape provided..

  only utilise this purposed bamboo bucket
  plastic buckets are bad for the environment
  but even worse for the head of the jettisoned his-baby...++

should the his-baby begin to appear
do hold and support its head
do not pull its ears
do encourage the birthist to scream and safely be in his own moment
exploring the range of sounds he can make with his vocal tract unleashing
essentially generating and pouring out all his tenderest emotional expressions..

observe primal vowels twisting and turning
rising and elongating
and fusing with abrupt yet spirited interludes of silence
ask a trained colleague to help time the silences
see chart..

footnotes

 *never ask a pregnant man-person breaking water to run down the stairs
  always use a wheelchair and lift if available 
  knees and shins should firmly rest on the chair seat
  backside raised proud and high toward the lift doors
  any false teeth should be gently removed
  allow the paramedics to lead..

+make a mental note of anyone refusing joy
  inform
  feel empowered..

= (insert name) is having a his-baby..
   percy patel is used only as example 
   so if the delighted man-person is named bob smith
   you would not ecstatically exclaim
   make way and celebrate
   percy patel is having a his-baby
   you would ecstatically exclaim
   make way and celebrate
   bob smith is having a his-baby..

   fun question
   what would you ecstatically exclaim
   if bob smith is in a relationship with percy patel
   whose his-baby would he be having
   see notes for correct protocol..
   ..
** remember just because a fluffy towel may look soft and fluffy
   does not mean it is soft and fluffy..

# fluffy towels are only to be deployed to protect privacy and dignity..

" be careful not to drop the his-baby
   it is not a marrow or a man-size baby melon..

 ++ fun fact
        a his-baby will fly out at speed
        often exceeding 7km/h..