free to do anything

there is nobody now
can claim
they have a right
to put hands on me
not that they held
any of that ever
more their definitions
of my being
are dead with them
too
it is impossible
to live
be
free’er
than that

cards to keep

we can sell you
a christmas
easter
birthday
wedding
you name
you got it
experience
it will cost you
pockets deep
with mementoes
flowers, balloons
& cards to keep
we do this everyday
being professionals at this
ah
but you
you want more
wanting feelings
needing a reality that bites
desire encounter
some meeting of minds
love, care
& we have to tell you
for that
the price
is very steep

Fado

All youf music
is Fado now
the breathless voice
catching
in sorrow
at the back of the throat
the descending piano chord
guitar in minor key
plainting
pleading
for some love
near
yet so far
& on it goes

Send me E.T

For I have things on my mind
that only good blotter
window pane
or microdot
could help with the thinking of
these modern chemists
have no love
no deep spirit of wonder
all the class A taste
at the back of the throat
& ………..
& nothing of wonder
so send me some
ergot titrate boys
lets whoop it in the spirit of ‘66
before Leary killed the beast
the CIA used the mob
& ………..
& forget all of that
send me the bathtub chemist
a prankster or two
for there is thinking to do

avoiding the axe

with the dial on 35 degrees

it is difficult to think

of ordering the winter wood

to be split

ready

when the dial hits 2 or thereabouts

even harder to contemplate

the swing of the axe

make it thud

thud

thud

cleaving round logs

into quarters to fit the fire

come December

a start must be made

for these too to sit in the sun

drying out

stacked

temporary homes for

beetles

lizards

& the wasps to take their nibbled share

create their paper drays

ice rattles now in my tall glass

as winter ice will shatter my bones then

for now the sun warms me

creates these lazy days

hazy in the shade

under the high trees

also avoiding the axe

 

Les anglais/rosbifs

The English abroad

in their pale skins

cotton top hair

hours

that slight half smile

thin acknowledgement

nod in recognition:

yes I have noticed you

but please for gods sake

do not say hello

for I wish to pass as a native

not understanding

their fawn

beige

taupe

stone

colour clothing

white feet in birkenstocks

signalled rosbif

from deux kilometres

away

lives we know nothing of

These lives we know nothing of

people spilling out of church

on a hot Saturday afternoon

after a christening

as the heat reads 35degrees

all in suits & pretty frocks

le midi

france profonde

as we sit sipping Meteor beers

while the swifts wheel the sky

catching bugs mid flight

men in whirling moustaches

offer bonjour

walking into the bar

we will never know of these lives

encounter them

their back stories

cris de coeurs

maman’s

gran’papi’s

bebe’s born to etrangers

so we sit & murmur to ourselves

for the beer is good & cold

much like our ignorance

of such existences

 

alone

I am not alone

we have the internets now

more porn

pix

dox

directions

alt routes

all in our pockets

(provided the battery lasts)

can call any customer desk

anywhere on this planet

for help/guidance

on anything

for a fee

or agreement for advertising

your laptop will spy on you

ditto the phone

the sat nav can take you anywhere

its satellite mothers footprint

can cover

while road cameras

collect your presence

for reasons you have

no need to know

I am not alone

enjoying all of these things

though I wonder

what happened

to the perfect isolation

artists used to need

coffin club

That little cough

a small half cough

that men have

do

when they are doing things

around the house

the world

to let the family know

others

that they are still there

or could it be

to remind themselves

that they exist?

I find I have it too

now that I am older

when it began

I have no recall

or of its purpose

welcome to the

coffin club

A moment in parisienne time

time would be about 5

the light was low

I was nursing my café creme

watching the traffic slide by

the usual ballet of speeding cars

mopeds & pedestrians

the soundtrack being beeping

muffled curses & gallic waves

I was thinking of nothing

except how the evening would be

how to use what little money I had

to its best advantage

when over the road at the fromagerie

I saw a parisienne matron

late sixties

haute couture clothing

coiffeured to the top

shoes that cost more than I could earn

& a dog

a little white sniffy poodle thing

all nose in the air

& look at me attitude

madame stopped at the open counter

began to inspect the boxes of cheese

monsieur (the proprietor) rushed out

aah madame z, how are you

& how is little sniffy?

Madame inspected every box in the display

as Monsieur opened every box with a flourish

this is from x out in provence

it arrived today by special train

this from b in Lot et Garonne

is one week old & ready for your special palate

sniffy sat

looked up

& madame picked her up

continuing to inspect

these new cheeses with her fine nose

my coffee grew cold

I did not care

this was street art

pure entertainment

enthralled

as she smelt every fromage in the premises

after thirty minutes madame z finally spoke

thank you monsieur

but I will go to monsieur m today

I am sure he will have something for me

& with that

sailed fifty metres along the boulevard

& began the whole process again