CHINO'D IN AN ARMCHAIR 198?

 

the bungalow cul-de-sac 

is flat as a playmat

& the static house dad  

watches sports tv

& does not turn his head

~

& chino'd in an armchair

under dormer corner stairs

you wait in the strange 

& finger comb gel glue

out your flop flick hair

~

youre shit-disco bound

if you can stick it

there are no drugs yet

& your hand sweats up 

your lonely ten pound note 

Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash

1980s I JUST DONT KNOW

a brown plastic of cider

& a kind of canvas blouse 

townhall saturday night ( a ... disco ? )

backstep escape ( set a pattern ... )
in white-speckled chinos

like tarmac under a birdshit tree 

knock-off converse clones
& hair so confused -

gel in / gel out / fuck gel !
& my sarcasm peaked
into mocking silence
i
just
dont
know

photo by Everyday basics on Unsplash

CHILD INSIDE

like a tree does
he
layered
a
man
around himself

from
laughter & denim
from
night-smoke & circus mirrors

collecting
small collections
of
glass & steel

&
he raped the void
with
sarcastic rebar

soft & hiding
on the
hard train

rolling rolling
magnetic
tape

~

sometimes he calls up
how did i do ?

you did ok
i tell him

careful not to hurt
his delicate feelings

but i miss you

from mizzoumag.missouri.edu

PART TWO OF A FUNERAL TRILOGY

DEFAULT SETTINGS

sarcasm back then

in
the
side alleys of bikes and plywood

was
my 
vocation
trade
lifeboat
default setting
base root foundation

and it had no home
in 
the
constipated dining room air

proper shoes silent
on the hoovered carpet

before

funeral



UNCOMFORTABLE ACTORS

the vibe
could not
be weighed

it 
was 
like
a half-dozen half-written plays
mashed
together
by
the
sideboard

at once saturday afternoon
and monday morning

and
the
actors
pulled
from
comfort

to improvise cautiously

like
god
was
actually
watching




LONG BLACK CARS

tension at once
ebbed and grew

when
the
long
black
cars 
came

but
movement
always
helps
things

and journeys are cocoon

pic from commons.wikipedia.org