SICK HEART LIMPS

they tell their microphones
that violence 

has no place
in politics

when

it has 

exactly 

the place

they bred for it

~

& the veil

these days

needs no lifting

its full of machine gun holes

& anyone can look & see

the sick heart limping inside

CATS RIDING DONKEYS TOO

the worlds ok really
just look at the internet

i can see the species unravel

in narcissism & violence

or zoom with a therapist 

& see cats riding donkeys too

i have scrolled for miles

& theres no end in sight

potted life on tap

in the soft lap of plenty

TEACHERS

1.DEAD TEACHERS

all
my
teachers
are
probably
dead
now

they all seemed 
about to retire 
all the time
back then

now theyre
sprawled in the council ground
like forgotten potatoes

or dust in urns on mantels
blended with polyester
and
assassinated
chipboard

those lords of the chalk
those pantomime villains
their
documented
influence
still
lurks
subliminal
in
my
mashup dna

and i can
only
remember
maybe 6 7 8 surnames
attached 
to
haircuts
acceptable violence
and
stationary cupboard rumour

or
plastic gloves
cos
of
a
chalk allergy


2. ABSENT TEACHERS

clearer
are
the memories
of
the
teachers union strikes
when
we
sat
there
waiting
and
no
teacher showed up

everyone kept the noise down
so no one would find out
and
id
have
35 mins or 1 hour 10
to
read or gaze out the window
safe inside a quiet conspiracy

or a head would walk in the door
grim faced
flustered
and
send
us
all
home

you never saw
30 odd kids
move so fast

out into the uncharted
daytime
of
cornershops
and fags


3. CRYING TEACHERS

and when a substitute teacher
was drafted in

new & young & terrified

half
the
class
would ramp up the smut and the swearing
to
see 
how quickly 
they could 
make them 
lose their rag
or
cry

the other half
laughed
them
on

till the tears flowed
and a proper teacher
would come in
and
make
us
all
feel bad

from community on pinterest