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

ON THE ROAD TO HOSPITAL

the red & amber lights
on the hospital lane
where
copper council brick
meets
death row bronze

blend & mate

their burnt palette 
like a painting
like a thought

not captured or frozen

only slowed

IN THE GRILL OF A RUSTY CAMPER / SOLID LAST WORDS

it was almost a deathbed confession

i had always wanted to hear one

& he had always wanted to give one

but there was no bed

its was blacktop
going red

& the confession
was all shock & nonsense

he laughed when i told him

laughed blood & bubbles

~

can you smell that ? 

he asked me
its my sadness burning

i gave him a nod

i gave him a smile

his yamaha was on fire

in the grill of a rusty camper

it was that we could smell

& my singed-to-nothing arm hair

~

solid last words achieved !

i said

high five ?

we did a low one 

sirens licking the firmament  

photo - Camper from the Dagenham Archive

INSTRUCTION & OBSERVATION MASHED UP POEM TWOFER

we must never look away

she had a red coat
she had a red book

we shall be witness
if we shall be anything

its a bible
i am on a bus

the respect in our hearts
struggles out our mouths

theres heavy underlining
on all her open pages

action is another story

photo - Red Smudge No 11 from the Dagenham Archive

DELIRIUM TAPAS VOL 9

red book
black cat

stars on 45

i am under the sky - duh

reduxed

&
blackmailing
the
sunlit uplands
of
soul


~


the page is dry
is old

its turning sound
heard a hundred fold

pdsa paperbacks for one hundred pence

i enjoy its sepia
that reptile texture

its smell & telling told

photo - Six Fuzztown Stoplights from the Dagenham Archive

AUTUMN ANATOMY - GUTTER CLOTS OF NEVERMIND

its static fire
&
earth-tone rainbow

its crisp orange
&
ruby picasso

form 
gutter clots
of nevermind

~

its impossible yellows
have
a
sternness to throw away

&
its valuable contacts
are a basic concern

~

fresh
flesh
dew 
embalmed

form
gutter clots 
of nevermind

decorating 
in cocky blank statement

~

its art - earth installed

&
it covers the plastic litter

uv'd as brittle 
as carehome bones

with
gutter clots
of nevermind

RED 2

RED

TWO MORE POPLINGS

1. MONEY

i know what you DID

i whisper angrily
at the money
i drew out
the hole in the wall

i know EVERYTHING
and one day soon
we WILL be coming for you . . .

i was seeing red mist
i was puffed up with rage
i was absurd

but
the
two small plastic notes
showed
no
visible
reaction

and it was a small triumph enough
to
spend
them
on
books
by 

heller & wyndham & victoria e bynum

in
the
steam cleaned
twilight zone
of
a
charity
shop 

pic from yell.com

2. BOMBS OUT THE STABLE DOOR

you built me

the bomb said

with your

cutting edge science

you KNOW what 

im gonna do next

so put me on a plane already

and

quit

your

whining

you didnt make custard pies

did you ?

pic from bfi.org.uk

REPORTS

the
filed
reports
come in 
too frequently
these days

they have their own ideas now
and become directives

i am kept on my toes
unclogging
my
aging
filters

~

and my piss turned grey like slate
like paint water
or
rain running off wet clay

and i worry i may be full of
only red now

and cool veiny blue

~

and
away from the wasted gains
and
away from the gainers gaze 

i am pale and shaved
in the gardens green phantasm

nylon and glass
between its bark twists

an escapee washed up on fertile banks
with
disease
the
price
of
freedom

from gelifesciences.com

BLOOD SPILL

the morning wont open its eyes

and
when
it
does
last nights blood spill
has
lost
its vivid glow

the red shine
dots of rust now

like
scaffold
rain
or
buttons popped off my undone flesh