I am crouching in the rain, Striking pen on pad, Hoping to get a tiny chip Of light to start the flame. My knees ache and rain runs down Into my squinting eyes, I’m still hoping for that flick That will ignite my fire. I begin to panic, just quietly, I fear that flick won’t [...]
There was a time (at least, I think there was memory’s not so good these days) when I was sure: coffee is gross; I will never grow old; only fools drink; and love is instant-easy-forever. Then there was a time (a different time, of course, did I say that already?) when I was sure: coffee [...]
It isn’t summertime until the cherries begin to drop; in price from 18.99 to four bucks a kilo box. Juicy Christmas, fresh new season before the heat turns dusty, stain my fingers, stain my lips, my appetite turns lusty. Sitting in front of the humming fan, in my shorts and bikini top, my private orgy [...]
Dribbles of poems drip through my fingers, Running like a midnight tap, Until I feel surrounded by first-line false starts: Clenched hands make an ineffective trap. I find myself stumped in search of rhymes, And thrash about, trying hard as I can, But, as though I’m gripping tighter to the poem, It slithers down and [...]
The witching hour apparently comes Between the next and light; When the world is pearlescent grey And there begins the night. This is to me the cats’ light; When the four-footed ones astir Pad through distracted suburbs And watch the curtains close, apurr. The witching hour comes to me, When I’m sealed in my bed, [...]
My absolutely favouritest spot, To reflect on life’s many challenges, Is the bathtub, filled with water hot, With ample time to wrinkle my phalanges. An hour or so, with a mug of tea, (Or wine if things are really tough), Is enough to soak out any difficulty, And smooth over any patch of rough. A [...]
Page after page of frozen slices, Lives slivered into celluloid ices; I pin down the corners and write down the names, And miss the times that these images tame. Her memory is crumbling, like stale old bread, Her recollections are trickling out of her head, I try to catch them, and stick them down firm; [...]
Mittens, I want to say thank you. You kept my hands so warm and snug; You kept at bay the snow and the dew, And every day gave my fingers a hug. Now that springtime is coming, And I’ve hung up my heavier coat, My mittens keep my heart humming, And my wintertime joy afloat. [...]
I. The curl of pale, swollen flesh over the waist of jeans; creased deeply when I wrest thick fingers into them; plush and pushing, pulsing body. There is black hate: Shameful tears, aching for the post- pubescence promise of pearled pouts. II. Hunger shifts: from familiar, loping, nagging hound to dangerous, foaming steppewolf. I eat [...]
I. An unsliced loaf rests, And its silent presence glows, Intensely scented. II. My toaster flings toast, With such enthusiasm, I won’t replace it. III. The beads of dry air, Streaming in my champagne glass, Burst along my tongue. IV. Two red parrots sit, And, caressing each other, Chortle quietly.
