Look At What You Could Have Won

back in the nineties
neath the pristine sparkling cerulean skies
sheer argent stars on a magic carpet ride of sapphire
easily admired even near heathrow
as the auriferous sun generously beamed above to us below..

back in my student days of the nineties
where men and women still somewhat liked one another
strange though that might seem now
even positively distasteful to some..

looking back reeling from now
seems somehow like a lost unattainable world
a little looser
not so uptight
not so much to fear
and though by no means perfect
seemed brighter and lighter
where night was not blinded by black mirrors
where thought-crime was still science fiction
where idealised futures seemed realistically attainable
and not only fantasies naively wishful..

there
there back in that time lived a man
lived a man among men
his name was jim
jim bowen..

jim bowen was a teevee gameshow host
famed for showing losing finalists what they could have won
could have won
had that fateful final question not been answered wrong..

and that was the highlight of the show for me
look at what you could have won
look..
look what you could have won..
my stone roses tape pressed on pause..

but because you answered wrong
you did not win
did not win what you could have..won..

deep stuff for my stoner-student self
jim bowen explicating
that because the contestant answered that question wrong
they won a prize
what prize you ask
in front of millions the contestant was given the opportunity 
to see what they did not win
did not win what they very nearly explained jim
very nearly could have won..

the koan-like poetry of it
and all delivered by a man called jim
jim bowen
all without a hint of malice or sarcasm or irony
well none that my stoner self back then could perceive..

look at what you could have won
only showing you this as you did not win it..

the cameraman then pulled in for the final close up
to capture the baffled expression of the contestant
the contestant who had to face facts and realise
they could have won the thing they did not win
as jim bowen reinforced once again those immortal words
look
look at what you could have won
you did not win it
but you could have
and to be fair you almost did..

the gaggle of dart-fisted supportive grannies applauded
applauded their loved ones
for not winning what could have been won
so winning the chance to witness in front of everyone
what they did not win
but could have won
and to be fair almost did ..

a..caravan..

from memory it was usually a caravan
a tiny caravan
usually only slightly bigger than the ancient citroen dyane
a caravan built to be rested in a garden full of weeds
resting on stolen bricks for its stolen wheels..

a..caravan..

and as the end credits began to roll
jim bowen invited us to join him again
for more of the same
more of the same this time next week
and millions could not resist
could not resist the chance
the chance to admire gazing at that same almost-won caravan
this time next week..

jim and all the contestants then waved to us goodbye
waved to us then
are still waving to us now the nineties
the nineties only waving not drowning..

infused with a kinder sensibility
daft but lovable teevee
life relatively carefree
and look at us now
glorious winners of all that is
all that is the unfolding merriment of the early twenty-first century..

final question
would the nineties trade in even a citroen dyane or a crap caravan
for a kingdom of tesla-transhuman superfans
careful how you answer..

the irony
an unintended irony foretold
pull back the curtain
oh..
look at what we have won..
fools gold..

Beyond The Stuff Of Dreams

the rain scented amber
the never before or after
fragile moonbeams tousle..

a galaxy of mist in suspension
neurons cosmic filaments
scintillate on closed eyelids open..

prairies of soul
align to the mind of light
solace free
a peace so timeless
brimless silence priceless..

Amidst The Earth Parallel

i was watering the air-purifying plant
it sits atop the dusted turntable
and overlooks the front window..

outside..
the most delicate rain drifted and drifted
slanting in sheerness
ever enfolding in floating sigh
sidling the towed land-locked air visible
etherifying the earth parallel the lifting lake
limpid kites entwining braided
sentient landing lights teemed the air intrepid
emulsifying gravity streams a moistened kiss
and a torch-lit exit..

in the painterly agentic glow-wormed gloom
sat a parked car near the t-junction
the driver sidelong
half face visible
dappled in sheen
a silk-screen murmur
quickened by the flickering-on waning moon..

windows up
she seemed to be gazing through
through to what i could not see
in shatter-proof aspic glaze
her being sat slivering silvery traces
a las vegas showroom sphinx wavered
behind the ever-dappling steering wheel..

from her sealed vessel xeric music emanated
a wifi-guided wobbling wax warhead
bubbling up reflexive clustered rumbling thuds
in a relay race for one
her windscreen wipers seemed receptive
occasionally duetted a complexified panegyric
reshuffling the received  a.i. corporate composing techniques..

absorbed seemingly zooming inward
i felt my gaze an intruder
and as i turned away
invisible elfin cymbals
brushed by dampened net curtaining shine
echoed as dangled whispers
here in the there somewhere..

Walking My Penguin

 

i am walking my penguin
walking my penguin for a few furlongs
walking my penguin
no madam that is not a euphemism
not a euphemism for anything
anything at all..

my penguin requires a little decent gentle exercise
so taking my penguin for walkies is great
and he is unable to lift weights
you ask why
well because my particular penguin has flippers
you try lifting dumbbells with flippers
not recommended..

besides that
and perhaps because he has put on a little weight
his portly gait means his back is bent out of shape
somewhere down there
his vintage blubber is stoically marinating..

when i walk my penguin in the cold winter weather
he dons woolly neon booties with sucker-soled grips
so he does not fall over onto the unforgiving icy concrete
penguins feet are so unsuited to negotiate human concrete..

and please do not get me started
on why pavements do not have under-heated penguin air-bags
so where does all our council tax go
terrible i know i know..

i am walking my penguin
no madam that is not a euphemism
not a euphemism for anything
you have asked me that once already
that makes no sense at all..

and he never lashes on the lamp posts of dogs
he is exceedingly well-mannered
he stays in his lane
and when he takes a shine to a neighbour
he drops an egg in their garden for them
alpha-bloke penguins have an extraordinary skill set
penguin misandrists really need to visit their shrink-vet..

no offence meant madam
i am simply walking my penguin
only for a few furlongs
after all
do you not also walk yours
yes i should hope so..

and madam i hope you know
you should never let your penguin out on its own
common sense is not so common now
gangster pedigree penguin-nappers are everywhere
they even write stupid songs glorifying it all
conceptual double-albums about penguins finding themselves
are a rare and treasured find
the swirly album art work is always immersive and sublime..

yes i know
and alas it is not like the days of yore
when you could let your penguin out
to relax in a deckchair on strawberryfied-krill summer days
in the secure knowledge your penguin would always
always remain in completely rude health and super-safe
apart from when your penguin suffers
the irritating seasonal malady
of mildly fatal heatstroke..

 

Guessing Fun With Senryu

 
inexorable
sold as inevitable
how execrable..

How A Genocide Is Reported On The Mainstream

 

tomorrow the weather will be a little milder than today
particularly in the southeast
there could be a little more nuisance rain on the way
christmas will be green..

Rent-Free Inside My Mind

 
dancing rent-free inside my head
my mind
would you like to swap yours for mine
even for a short while..

then you can shoot high up
even past the stars
or failing that
at least you can splatter your skull cosmically into drywall
please be assured it only hurts for a short time
and then you can marvel as your home
effortlessly spins round you
replete with silvery shards of splintered bone
like an exploding glitter-ball
what glamour
what more could a discerning adult hope for..

so why not hike rent-free inside your head
my mind
help yourself
oh please you first
and you first every time
so how about a swap
my mind for yours
generously offered on free-hire
at least consider my mind for your air-fryer
cook up my thoughts in your head smokeless
for synapses deep-fried
and not a drop of fancy olive oil required..

why not trapeze rent-free inside your head
my mind
where multi-dimensional beings traipse
and bubbling-up realms await
to kaleidoscopically morph and flower
there your fevered dream-time beckons
where hours flash by in elasticated mercurial seconds..

and though you will wake up exhausted
grasping at astonishing misted memories fleeting
with thoughts and observations you cannot share
for you immediately will be institutionalised
alas deeply concerned citizens are everywhere
small price to pay
think of all the amazing experiences you can share
with yourself..

all you need do is swap your mind with mine
even if only for a short while
or at least swap my mind for your air-fryer
crazy rent-free adventure will be there for the taking
carpe diem and happy sailing
no fancy olive oil required
just mind the walls
cover your wallpaper
and be wary of your difficult responsible neighbours..

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apply one penelope
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The Be-Do-Be Song

even when all else fails
i will distract myself and fish for wishes
to live the reawakened dream or two
and flourish despite my near misses..

even when all else fails
i can be by simply being
and by not only looking but really seeing
as part of being the i-am
i be-do-be..

even when all else fails
i will make progress by being my kindest
help others safely guide through waters darkest
the inner light pure shall never blind us..

even when all else fails
i will still not give in to fear
respond not react
i can still ask and offer help
reach out raise up receive and reconnect
to forgive is to simply overlook
and i can do all this and still be real..

even when all else fails
i will stay on-side for the miraculous
a new reality might entangle and prevail
and in my flow-state and letting go
and with renewed hope
i will again set sail..

even when all else fails
i will still maintain myself aligned
sublimely connected with the higher mind
reminded of past hard times transcended..

so even when all else fails
i will re-imagine
being and becoming
and be the be-doer
to the best of my being
for when else might i kindly mean
now and now
here to be to be so much more..
be-do-be..
be-do-be..

Well Recorded..

yeah hi just calling in
just to say that..
can you count me as being absent for today please..

absent..so..
what is wrong
i have to record it on the matrix for the stats..

oh yeah..
so just say that i am feeling really really..
..well..

well..what..

well..
just well..
well as in unusually content and healthy
full of vibrancy and life
you know..
fulfilled and happy
just really weird
caught me completely by surprise..

are you feeling okay
no-one has that here..

exactly
look i promise
if i genuinely feel like crap tomorrow
i will be back
i will..

look okay
well be positive
hopefully tomorrow you will feel more your normal self..

yeah obviously
but just to warn you
the way i feel right
right now
it has gone into my bones
i have not felt like this for ages
this wellness-fog seems chronic
i might have undiagnosed long-wellness..

oh come on now
a little bit of negativity please
it is what the doctor ordered
sort yourself out
now go and lie down
and think about your imminent performance review
that might help..

Fade To Vivid

 

that quickly snapped photo
the poignancy of the memento
the precious one thriving there
there..
here and where..

that quickly snapped photo
no artfully applied brushstrokes
no purposeful artistic appraisal
no inspired portraiture delicate
resplendent with rich primary colours
deftly layered with subtle shades pastel
no easel required for this unframed nail..

and yet each pixel transforms confounded
somehow suffused supernaturally
with breath and life savoured
so all the artifacts ambushed with flash
the washed-out shades and textures harshened
even the shadows that become off-set
out-of-focus and all that
none of that matters
none of that really matters
treasure..

that spirit essence
where surface swoons deep
imbues the grain
the ordinary moment transcendent
inner light only fades to vivid
the fade-out vaulted luminous
their nature nurtured with linked air dimensional
save..

the eyes the inner light
brushes the receiving lens
whispering the between-us said unsaid
as

that expression..

the crystallised moment flowing
flowing past
ever flowing
sunset infuses river
then the moon rises
admixture mingles..

beneath the plastic
the slender air-gap
the toughened smash-proof glass
protecting the thumbnail
the heart dilates protective..
press..
expand..

that quickly snapped photo
it transforms
watering the memory well..

the silvery pale
lift
attach the bifurcated mist..
send to self..

that quickly snapped photo
the subject not knowing
the afterimage overlay
in rude health turns around to gaze
at their still life imprinting..

View From The Edge Of Venus

 
empathy and love
light living
outward and inward
painful/ exquisite
the air perfumed swells to the almost infinite..

the pollination
one rescue breath the deepest ocean..

empathy and love
in absence
the universe hollowed expands
swallows itself whole
broken boulders and sand
granulated glass empires
rule the grandest mercury-rippling thrones
nurtured tenderly by the abandoned gardeners frozen..

stinging cacti for the parched
an abrasive polish for mirrors distorting
empathy and love
cast adrift and let loose on these parts
that would really be something..