WHILE SPAIN PLAYED SAUDI ARABIA

to a 1992 ten pence coin
i say heads i recover my health

& i toss it 

& its heads

& i say heads i will become monied

& i toss it

& its heads

& i say heads there is a god

& i toss it

& its heads

well i love its optimism 

& asking nothing of it
i toss it again
& its tails 

as if in confirmation contrast

of all the heads before

THE GUARDED EYES & THE BLOOD LUST

in these dim sum days 

of fascist exfoliation 

& robot football 

our optimism & hope 

& faith & nerves & sanity 

must make do with 

     relief

     when 

a second group 

of thin brained jingo-lords 

throw their temu newsboy caps 

in the liars ring

& split 

the 

vote
of the first

TUMBERLINA PETAL

optimism

is
like
a tumberlina petal
on a dead dogs paw

but still counts

has to still count

night clots in 

the dark months

blood trail rust dry

in the mountain pass

LONG STORY SHORT

once upon 
a 
winter morning 

the sun was open peace
and 
the air was cold candy
when
we
met
in
a
church basement
of 
street sadness 
and 
organised optimism

she 
patted the wooden chair next to her
with
a
mitten paw 

and
afterwards

we went for coffee

and
decided

  to
  be
  nice


    to
    each 
    other 


      for
      ever

 from urban75.org

LONG DAY

the day was long
like a mile is long
when
you
got
no
shoes
and the air is full of grit

a tear of tiredness
tickles
and
trickles
down
my 
nose 
like the first fat drop
of
an
indian summer downpour

its only 6 pm 
so
i dress carefully in tired optimism
and
put
the tv on quiet

 from en.wikipedia.org

REFLECTIONS IN A BATH MAT

it was a thick year
and
without retreat

i'd felt the mass of the earth
pushing up 
thru the soles of my shoes like a living thing breathing
and
there
were
moments like drugs but without drugs
when
i couldn't tell if something was wet or just cold
and
the world exploded into pure concept and atoms

just bits to pick and choose

i'd been
burnt by optimism
and was
whole with poison

and now all the killer last lines were lined up
like cigarettes in a fresh pack
ordered
and
waiting to paint my breath