IN NOVEMBER 13

for AG, RB, DP, AN, SM

Pope Francis says, "tie
the corrupt to a rock and throw
them in the sea." A man
living in social housing
instead of having a well-lit
second home may
count himself a failure.

In our society is a mass
sense of entitlement, induced
subliminally, but without much
subtlety. I tried that once.

Home office send a letter
to 7 year old boy
telling him to leave
the country voluntarily or
his departure may be enforced.

Jeez... Amidst death,
debris and desperation
a newborn human
learns to latch on.

The Yorkshire Post won't let me
run anymore adverts.
Gardinski replies;

"What if there is not enough ocean?"

LARDING

for SM

my knitting's knotted
stiff itchy wool
into chaotic bows
of colour clash
about my needle's
cold metal electrodes
that clitter-clack
with typewriter efficiency
untangling the yarn
from a misfitting cardigan
they spun to stiffness
unspooled like chevelled VHS
as they stitch and purl
out of sudden looseness
rough patchwork
that narrates
old neural pathways

See the original here

MENIERES

for SM


I was helicoptering over the Gambia,
the blades whirling around my head, thundering
the dust up in windmills and eddies.
My ears were spitting white hot sparks,
the air cleaved open by the chopping rotor
and I was violently sick. I was looking
for something that didn't move. Something static.
The world was a tumble drier. Churned blankets
and clothes. A pile of rags caught up
in the agitator, turned. I was falling out of the sky.
Spiralling down. Corkscrewing pavements
and smack I was under. Diving bell deaf.
At these pressures you're listening through wool.
Movement is slower. You're floating
among the fish with hook teeth and marble eyes.


*update! Thanks to Spangle McQueen now with sound: Click Here for Soundcloud

This poem was comissioned for charity by Spangle McQueen. It is about the condition Meniere's Disease and the funds raised by the poem will go towards the Meniere's Society. I would like to thank Chris Packham and the forum members of Meniere's Disease UK.