ON THIS SPINNING ROCK OF TREES

dont
get
me
wrong

we ARE 

brewing up 

a Bad Storm
in a sports direct mug

but lets get over ourselves
& read the room

cos theres an elephant in here
burning

I AM THE MEAT FORM

  & 

maybe i am

the meat formed
in the calm
before the storm

  or
the tiles & red residue
of the eternal kitchens
breakfast gag & debrief

  where
the fridge 

hum & pop
is a lo-fi 

like techno

soft backing to your skin-pick worry

siren panic to your maintenance dread

A HEAVEN STRAW FOR CLINGING

at 

least 

that
weird scripture
has music in heaven

even if its only bossy trumpets

dont tell me 

les paul not tried 

to electrify a harp up there

& we all know

gene krupa

cant sit still

its a straw to cling to

when
all the ports here

are

busy making storms

Photo by Maxime Favier on Unsplash

CAR PARK OBS

the flats
are built 
like steps

climbing 
into
low bruised storm cloud
collected & brimming

location 
location 
location

train station a retail park away


~


i may have sat here too long
but that merc in front of me

well its tow bracket
looks like
its giving me the finger

i find nothing 
to disprove this

vandalism on my mind

from en.wikipedia.org

COVIDEO SNAPSHOT THOUGHT POPS IN A GREY NEW WORLD 1

its our calm

before

their storm . . .


~


spare cat is now

drawing blood
stealing food

oblivious
to our

existential fug -

damn paradigm shifts
will not orderly queue


~


its their calm

before

our storm . . . 

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING

the
thrust
of
the
girth of earth
on
the
back gardens rough lawn

is unignorable

is wet green 

is
u n b e l i e v a b l e

i am poised there
on the nose
of
our
great round rocket

legs braced and bent
like a figurehead
in the storm prow

tip of the spear
i
am
the
tip of the spear 

and
the 
bathroom bin
cotton ball
clouds 

they run run run
like theyre late

or
gone
stark
mad
with it all

from pittwateronlinenews.com

PART THREE OF A FUNERAL TRILOGY

AFTER

and 
after
it
was
kind of beautiful
to
breath air again
after
the
held
breath
and
production line dignity
in
the
any-denomination-or-not parlour

and 
it
was
kind of beautiful
to 
see 
grandad as smoke
rising
in
a
surprise snowfall

it
didnt
settle
tho

like we had to




OTHER GRANDFATHER

and
as
stiff english lips
lost their starch
and
started
their
flapping

my
other grandfather

big as a tobacco bear

uninvited
and
unexpected

lumbered
over
from
the
carpark

it felt like a storm
that wouldnt break

and he asked me
for the first 
and last time

if i was ok

pic from compassionatefunerals.co.uk

NATURES FOOL 5 (then i went inside)

in lieu of talent
i
get
out
my 
balls
for
the August rain

i
hear a deep thunder crackle

my
secret 
hair 
stands 
up

electric

 

from en.wikipedia.org

STORM IS LIKE STUFF

storm goes 
PAH !
and 
CR-CR-CRUNCH !
like the famous black Asiatic bear 

lightning flashes great blue bed sheets in appalled silence 
and
rain comes - fat drops like mad upstream salmon
swimming in the urgent bladder 
of
a
full animal hose

thunder goes 
MEGA PAH !  
like
beasts bellies empty - sweet meat buffet is late
and
we
cringe like dogs by the window - its 3 AM and we're swearing
with
each
POW and KA BLAAAM - roars from the zoo of the world
angry and careless and reckless
in
the 
wild sky

small mammals lay low to the ground like spies
clutching secret briefcases for comfort
hiding
under
wooden hems and imaginary sheltering wings

lightning flashes 
DAY DAY DAY ! like time has burst into bits 
like the blinking eyes of leviathan
and 
everything is lit negative and naked and unnatural
but 
REAL
and we wonder aloud how much primitive people
must 
have
shat
at the noise from the animals in the sky

from www.philidelphiazoo.org

INBOX SPIRAL

the reply 
to my 
submissions 
came the 
next day/
suspiciously quick

of course 
it was 
a rejection/polite rain on my new-courier babies

the whirl 
in my mind 
was fast and tight/this rejection DOMINATED ALL
no matter
other
acceptances 

suddenly everything was pointless

suddenly it was the fault of consumer capitalism

suddenly my life 
was doomed
was foolish
and
must change

world 
now black and red 
and 
without 
ANY hope 
or dreams 
AT ALL

but deep in this grim spin 
i realised 
there was
no question 
of STOPPING/no doubt the words would continue

and 
the storm in an A cup 
broke 
its 
waves 
uselessly on indifferent resolute rock