SHIPBUILDING MK II

I'm torn in two unequal parts by news
that one thousand seven hundred and seventy five lives
will be decimated by job cuts. In Portsmouth
shipbuilding will cease. Yet, can I grieve
that hands will not be put to beat hulls to carry
death machines to sand filled countries? It was not Bill
or Mark or Ged that gave diktats to the Middle East.
They just hit the metal where the man telled them.
These could be pleasure steamers
for all they care. The profits of their labours move
like dunes at night between the wealthy and the powerful.
It is sad. The harbour slimed with seaweed is silent save the smack 
of waves against the concrete breakers where hammers once clanked. 

BONFIRE NIGHT

I'll turn Fawkes under rain slicked leather,
humping the explosive in a waterproof rucksack,
my dimmed torchlight making for the cellar.

My fingers thread the wires, red and black,
round the silver pins on the ignition device.
I've rigged the whole basement; front and back.

Tonight I'll exterminate the filching lice,
in their Armani and ermine supping their scotch.
The bastards above are parasites.

And when the fireworks blow I'll stand and watch
the bursts, the sparks that flame and ember
until Parliament is razed by white-hot scourge.

Every fifth of November I know they'll remember
that lions can bite when kicked from slumber.

A REVOLUTIONARY TO HIS TIM'ROUS LOVE

When I began to change myself
into another language, I felt nervous
because I thought the whole world
was coming in me. And because I was affected
I needed a Big Bang
and I can explode matter like Fascists.

So it seems that when you saw the explosion
you felt frightened
because you'd thought to cling to dreams
of golden mountains singing Free Markets.
It sounds like you need security.
I can give you power in place of dreams.
How about it?

ILL TREATMENT BY HUSBAND

The first bowl of porridge was too hot.

The second bowl of porridge was too cold.

The third bowl of porridge was never right.

He sat in a chair that was too hard.

He sat in a chair that was too soft.

He smashed a chair over her head.

In the bedroom he treated her roughly.

In the bedroom he kissed her neck tenderly.

In the bedroom he near-half strangled her.

One night three bears broke into the kitchen

and disturbed the contents of cupboards and bins

and nobody has seen him since.

HEREDITARY PREDISPOSITION

genome twists the 

follicle makes the 

melatonin whitens the 

balance falters the 

heart quickens the 

life shrivels the 

penis squirms the 

scrotum tightens the 

diaphragm hiccups the 

hand grasps the

KICKED IN THE HEAD BY A HORSE

i.m. IT

A police horse. Horseshoes. Metal. A riot helmet. Hooves.
Knock, knock. Broken jaw. Fetlock. Mane. A splintered fibula.
Minor injuries. Bruises. A booted shin. Accident & Emergency.
Temporary loss of vision. Stroke. Strike. A heart attack.
Knock. Shattered humerus. Who's there? POLICE. A bust Yale lock.
Fingers in a door jamb. A fat lip. Torn eyelid. Lesions.
These are polished heroes on parade. Medals. The door on the chain.
Community trust award. Shield. Riot squad. Boots. Stampede.
Bust. A police horse. Halter. Stirrup. Bit. Neck. Reins. Noose.

INTEMPERANCE AND BUSINESS TROUBLE

In The City, sunlight turns the air to melted ice-cream
sending city bankers to the ale house for their lunch
to souse the fires with Staropramen. Thermometers pop
at the sound of the trading bell and seeping buboes 
weep in the underarms of short sleeved linen shirts.

This one, three sheets gone, makes a gamble he can drink
the afternoon dry. The afternoon responds with rain.