OST OF THE MIND

the djs gone rogue 

hes looping common people

second hand prams

in the high street wind 

cul-de-sac kettles on

landline in the hall

~

its a soft afternoon 

of hard nostalgia

abnormal & silent & nothing

to the data scrapers ears

HAIKU FLUB

 

essential work flows

a river shallow from drought 

& the road trip dreams

PUBLIC FUNDED CAREHOME CANVAS

if youth
is wasted on the young

then health
is wasted on the chipper

i say

prescribe the sick 

lab-perfect medicinal whizz
& 

give the old & retired & forgotten 

lashings of military grade gak

& let the poor bastards dance again

~

& millstone clocks lifted

from their old bread necks

they shall paint societies revenge 

beautiful & kind & colourful 

on public funded carehome canvas

BLEED THRU THE CRACKS

i keep doing
& if i do hard enough

& dont look
into the morning mirror

then i might
bleed thru the cracks

& stain the stage
& make them see

after the curtains are down

& the lights are up

what it looks like

to keep doing

& the true-crime 

look of it all

HAIR BY NICKY CLARKE

babylon & the black dog

bogart in bohemia

theyre talking to denzel

for the movie

my ideas lose their way

in the unpaved quagmire
of a spiralling mind

&

my thoughts do

what cigarette smoke does

breathed out in the fog

the butcher of bakersfield 

betty boop & barberella

in b&q in brent cross

hair by nicky clarke

TREE DREAM OF OTTERS & TROUT

& the crypto mothman

has been sighted again

digging in the dump

for his plastic slab

of unicorn wealth

& snake oil -

well its a brand now

& off-grid looks good

looks like a fad

looks like a hard death

a place to be born

but not move too

a tree dream of otters & trout

to think on

when the wifi is down

NOR COMIC HEROES ON

they dressed 

us in black & grey
no colours 

nor comic heroes on

they put us 

in stiff shoes
for us 

to polish them too

when we were small 

& had no voice

& hiding was the best game

CATS RIDING DONKEYS TOO

the worlds ok really
just look at the internet

i can see the species unravel

in narcissism & violence

or zoom with a therapist 

& see cats riding donkeys too

i have scrolled for miles

& theres no end in sight

potted life on tap

in the soft lap of plenty

ANCIENT OAKUM

its
all
like
dried up glue

stringy & ugly
& something to pick at

ancient oakum come loose

& on the way 

to the kitchenette bin

in the peach colour prefab

then landfill

or a south pacific beach

where the turtles

cosplay westerners

but never for long

THE CREATIVE PUSH & PULL

you got to push it out
like birth
from need
from heart
forced by guts
out the valve you tore

& you must pull too
with exposure
laying bait
& fishing & trawling & mining

& if all that is
is a weak fart
on low hanging fruit

well i still did it

IN ITS BUDDHIST GAZE

& this little house
sat on its estuary clay

it almost has a face
if i would turn
swift enough to see

see its calm look

of time & bricks

see the stoicism

in its buddhist gaze

see all its needs

that can wait

its says

dont worry 

SHRIEK ON

shriek on
shrill songbirds

dont let
our swearing
stop you

we are hungover
from questions

~

& the fulltime bell

will surely peal soon

on another mornings
cold taxi minds

YEAH WELL I HATE YOU

all 

the 

madness & horror

& bad skullfuckery

would make sense

could make sense

if god would show up
& say

yeah well i hate you

but he
cant even
do that

ESSENTIAL EMBRYONIC

getting drunk 

on the authenticity

of the outsider 

on the sidelines

of the mindgame
dance & buffet 

in those essential embryonic times

was a bunker & soapbox

unassailable 

& ready with razors

MICE OF OURSELVES

'You sound like youre from nowhere.'

David Goodis, The Burglar



we have made 

mice of ourselves

afraid of 

the machines above

no mind

the cannibal holocaust

behind the pastel dream
of the faded ads

on end terrace

masonry gables

sky pie for supper
in the babel shade

 

SO PORTABLE

plans dashed

by the cat 

asleep in the chair

as comfortable

as if

he took his bones out

so portable
but immoral
to disturb

CHALK & CHARCOAL

thick green roots 

sutured
to the red brown brick

theres zen 

in the weeding
in the cleanse

geese honk
in the chalk & charcoal
smudge of sky

black dogs
tow their people
in the uncertain wind

THE KETTLE & THE GARDEN CHAIR

think it
fart it

get it down

autoflo

leaving
the
head
out
of
it

one filed report

worth two 

in the draft

& if it all sucks

call it gravity

& move past it

to the kettle

& garden chair

autoflo

tree awning

& hysterical birds

the bugs on table patrol

CONSEQUENCE CALCULATOR (c)

if you are todays years old

when you learned 
laws are a flexible guideline 

please sign in 

with google

or facebook

& enter your earnings & location 

to
check your social status
for
our
consequence calculator (c)

SILVER PROTEIN

the snail
leaves a trail

of carbohydrate mucus 

& silver protein

essential
for
communication

like we leave 

optic fibre
& burnt tar

essential

for

communication

if youve lived

out of your car

FREEDOM TASTING LIGHT

bmx on the streets
moving
moving
moving
solo rider making time
hunting peace in motion
streetlights blinking on

teardrop tubing
mx brakes

faux-italian cursive
on my jumpers tit

the freedom tasting light
when i tasted it

PADDED OUT WITH DEJA VU

forever has lost its reach
&

is padded out with deja vu

& 

i 

repeat myself

repeat myself

repeat myself

going round
like a clock
goes round

bloody allergy nostrils

flaring again

in spring again

at the redolence of murdered grass

RICH TEA & LUCOZADE

the rain is abrupt
here then over - a splashdown

maybe the gods
are testing their plumbing

they might have
a hard water problem too

~

& the traffic
going by on the wet top
sounds warm

like rich tea biscuits
taste warm
when youre belly sick

& self medicating
with original
red gold lucozade

& thorazine

MOTEL OF THE MIND

like on magnetic tape

the flock wallpapers 

delicate fibres
recorded the essence & lexicon

of guests long checked out

~

& these ghosts & echoes 

go about their days
in a looping playback
of overlapping samples

forever overbooking

me with memories

in the motel of the mind

SIXTY TWO MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE

his hand
is held flat
& reaching out
palm down

at least two yards
before he places it
on the bookstore railing
& swivels in the door

maybe this is to show
how he is always 

one step ahead
or is just the actors whimsey  

& this 

was my only takeaway 

from a 2 hour 

& 62 million dollar movie

REGULAR HORROR 14

but school was there
like clouds are there

monochrome uniform
monochrome chalkboard

cornering us in a spotlight
in the naked lunch of it all

solo runners on trial
in the playground courtroom

of fluid cliques 

invisible laws

NARCISSISM FOR SURVIVAL

among other news

robots direct & patrol
the killing grounds hellscape

no wonder this generation
embraces the improved reality
of the photo filter drop down

their white picket fence
is in the handheld glass
that soft mirror
their minds can mould

& impossible bills
are piled up just so
& backlit as a backdrop
for another instagram shot
of a perfect lunch sandwich

REGULAR HORROR 6

nights obsidian shine

allows
dawns
grey
washcloth 

in

like a parent

loosing a game

with a kid

on purpose

for a quiet life

REGULAR HORROR 10

despite all the regular horror
on the phone & in the mail

i am getting up 

when i can get up

& taking my coffee 

in the gardens lush overgrow

well fed & medicated 

clothed & unbombed

thanks to the coincidence gods

of the fortune crapshoot melee 

FLOWER GAGA

their weak colours
trying to pop
under the colourless sky

the pale daffodils
all face west
& into the rain

they exhibit
the dumb bluntness
of brainwash

& the faded appearance
of sweatshop knockoffs

weak unbranded dye

there is one tho
stood shorter
& rude with yellow

& i feel like . . .

. . . i feel like 
i should rescue it

yes

i will do that now

FRESH BAKED CRUMBS

was feeling
well grim

about it all

till the sun came out

like spilled yellow paint 

& my wife came home
with fresh bread

we ate on the bedspread
by the sleeping cat

miniature snores
& impossible fur

flaked with fresh baked crumbs

TRIUMPH GAS TANK

the universe reaches

from inside of you
to wherever forever

& i would kick myself

if my time tickered out

before its secrets were out

& it built a bonfire of paradigms

& steve mcqueen returned to light it

like he returned

with free razors & bulk soap

to

his

old

kids home

one red shirt collar tip

pocking out

a mustard sweaters crew neck

beat up triumph gas tank 

between his denim legs

hollywood in his hip pocket

THE POSSIBILITY OF TEARS

i hear the song in my head

so i find the song

& i play the song

& i dont cry to the song
so much as
explore
the possibility of tears
as my skin goes chill all over

& i journey then
inside & out
visiting the happened

the real
the not

& the could be

REAL OUT HERE TODAY

the man
sat in the garden again

plastic zen
amen

~

waiting 

with a used canvas
for the roses
to bloom

& when the pigeons come

noisy & graceless
he notes in pencil 

on his scribble pad 

how real it is out here today

EESENTIAL WORK, REPORT 239

last december i audited

the draft folder in the word blog

there was almost 200 unfinished
essential reports waiting on filing

& i have been working them
& i have been filing them

tweaking & teasing then launching 

these origami boats on the gigahertz ride

& now today

well 

theres 238

so i will never be done
& how perfect is that

DEVASTATION

every day is devastation

but sometimes
a heatwave 

will unbleach 

a coral reef stretch

& theres colour
back in the sea there
again

slim pickings in the valley

slow harvest in the mall

jellies thriving

in an atoll lagoon 

THE CEMETERY SQUIRRELS

time is hallucinating
in the fever ether

& again
i cosplay a person

boots on / face out

meat tower saying morning

draped in stitched cotton

& zips

~

the cemetery squirrels
run from their tails

in the thick grass & tall stone

& i rest under trees

where the sky cannot see me
& 

the warplanes

stay away

in my phone

CREASED LIKE A BRAIN

sometimes its ok

& the tv
dovetails into my mind
with near cnc precision

from worlds away 

to my time here

~

when mostly 

it only puttys up the gap

badly & shoddily 

& without due care

like i did

behind the radiator

in the hallway

2007

wall all creased like a brain

A LOGICAL WAY

we

render

our 

animal experience

into cannibal tallow

to ease the grit 

in the bearings

of the carbolic wheel

in the mad hope of pearl

peace

& a logical way

STUCK TO FLUID GUNS

as a surface dweller
i find 

the caverns of deep thought
stifling & frightening & a trap
bereft as i assume they must be
of real light & good air

& the tvs clever 

movie twists & tricks

of in-jokes & easter eggs
stink of vanity
to me now

it wasnt always this way

i am in function retreat

& i stick to my fluid guns

BROADCAST TINNITUS

my essential work

of filing reports 

is hampered now

by the heavy static

of broadcast tinnitus 

& the nerve damage 

from the death tv

LETTER FLAPS COUGH

 

i arrange 

the fruit of the detritus rain

&

the paper tiles

of the letter flaps cough

into an approximation

of amateur tasseomancy

with a hope & ennui yin yang 

spinning electric 

inside my ribs

NOT EVEN CLOSE

i would say

to denial murphy

& the yoga crew

to the green powder pushers

at the supplement bazaar

to denmark & finland

& the uk dwp

'you come try walk a mile in my shoes'*

but the whole point is
i cant do that either

not even close

* please note  

  i own a selection of good shoes
  & they are not wearing out
  any time soon i can tell you

PHONE WANTS ALL THE JOBS

need a buffer
before the day

a refresh / a defrag / a purge

& tho the phone wants the job

wants all the jobs

i know a shower will do it best

wet ritual rebirth
so then
i can
attempt
myself
again

clean parts i hope will fool the mind

THAT HARBINGE SLEEP (A BRACKET GAGAKU)

the oatmilk of human kindness
has gone up 30 pence

& at night
oh yes 

there i am 

( undistracted & translucent

  in the phone screen afterglow )

worrying

( the rubble children 

  & the orbiting star net cage )

& hallucinating

( my too-vivid self 

  limping out on the wild beaches )

& waiting 

( hunched then stretched

  hunched then stretched )

for the coded 

lightning flashes
that harbinge 'sleep'