ACTOR POP NUMBER 4

archie leach
had a big head
& had long arms
so
dunhill & quentino
cut his suits
accordingly

& here comes

cary grant

SMALL BIRDS AND SLEEPSIDE DREAMS

small birds

new starlings

come out the apple tree
three at a time

and treat the lawn 
dense with clover
like
a 
Homebase OAP weekend sale

~

could i be one
one day
and know what
to do ?

when to gather fibre
how to build ?

and
when the best time is
to shit on the roses ?

~

and the cosmonauts tranquilisers
came in vegetarian capsules

brought -
gift of rest
that regular oblivion

and
i
dreamed
i
was
a 
beacon
in the big big sea

half light house half roman god
in levis
hoody
and
nike airs

oceans lapping at my doubleknot laces

~

and
the
new birds

small starlings

well they hatched
with a shopping list ready

i am on the back step
i look for the lizard they used to be

realising again
how uncomfortable it makes me
that 
they
have no arms

and if their wings
are really 
an adequate payoff

from kottke.org

VIOLENCE

from theverge.com

at school
we
all
kick each other in the shin
and
knee each other in the thigh
and
punch each other in the arm

DEAD ARM or DEAD LEG
we cry out
in victory

  this 
  is 
  Recreational

~

fights break out 

  rucks 
we called them

and
girl-fights 
bring 
the 
biggest 
crowds

savage nails 
biting
torn uniforms

  this 
  is 
  Vendetta

~

  Violence 
  Is 
  No 
  Solution

say the teachers
say the parents

ALL THE TIME

  and
  in 
  English Lit they show us

    Threads 

  in 
  two 
  sittings

~

and we grow up
and we survive AIDS and jobs
and the last-orders pub car park
               
and 
ALL THE TIME
on 
ALL THE NEWS
governments essential armies
serve
down
violence
from 
blue skies

as solution

~

Rambo
Bruce Lee
Travis Bickle
the carnage of Middle Earth

own up - 
anyone
really
want
to
be
Macgyver ?

from bbc.co.uk

TREE POME PIC

damn your surveyor 
and
compromised foundations !
you fence me in
and
cut back my arms
when
i
only
reach
for
the sun
to
grow
and
to
shade you