all the tiny things speaking to me again
i cant get out of my head
i cant get it out of my head
the outside is oppressing
the inside is tired and rapidly emptying
david sylvian sings we used to do things my way
cold feet
cold heart
stifle a shiver
silver morning blues
a jet passes overhead
more separation
the leaves sway impossibly
someone or something must be shaking the tree
ugly birds in its nests
sharp claw n beak
streamlined feathered for the dive
when it plucks some other bird fresh from thin air
or plucks up some scurrying thing soundlessly
the sun is ashamed of itself today
it has let its solar system run down
it hangs quietly behind a cloud
like a soft over ripe peach
now sun
show yourself
reveal yourself
dispel the shadows which remain
names fill my mind
faces of school mates
and where they sat in my class
all of them olde now like me
fallen victim to years
their youth fled forever
theyre out there
wandering this world
someone else has a turn at school
someone else is born
someone else passes away
the circle must be completed they say
the wheel of karma inexorable, fiendss
you make your bed
you gonna lie in it
or tell the truth?
small things spook me
whats hunting me down?
time?
age?
failure?
big black nemesis
anathema personified
with plenty of kudos
tiny insects gather in clouds
christmas beetles at easter
a bucket full of starfish
a punnet of angelfruit
in season unseasonably early
the soft flesh melts in my mouth
its dark juice stains my lips
its seeds i spit with disdain
its aroma of heaven
its taste of miracle
my guardian angel appears
apart from that busted arm
you aint got nuthin’ to complain about
he/she says
i perform the ceremony of combustion
the pool is closed today
our day of rest says another swimmer once
the breast strokers sabbath
my ears sing the body electric
and something very wicked this way comes
harry houdini in negative
the man who gets you all into a trap
meanwhile
in a beachside suburb of sydney australia
the sun struggles feebly in the sky
the children cough n sneeze with colds
the baby sees me
oh wow she says
gum trees bow n scrape to the wind
white clouds fill the firmanent
a huge dead cockroach
reanimated by the dismantling ants
a lizard trusts me within arms reach
its trying to catch a tan in this mist/smog/cloud
small stupid dogs occaisionally bark hysterically
woof woof woofsy woof
the unfortunate don their costumes
and hit the trail to work
a huge fluorolit room
cubicled off
computers flashing figures
cups of coffeee
n ciggie break
boss an angry shape n voice looming
yeblik, wheres that report on the humphries account?
sorry boss
but i been looking at the sky?
yeblik, have you seen these figures?
sorry boss, i been writing poetry
yeblik, im having you fired
sorry boss, im going to leave anyway
im going to sydanee
im going to start a rocknroll groop
we’re gonna go on n on non
for yearsnyeahs
yeblik, youll never amount to anything out there
oh yessiree mr boss how right you were
my reverie fades
my shoulders aching from hefting the bass for hours
and from typing this letter to you
well thats more like it
the sun heaves itself free
sydanee puts on its sunny funny face
yeah
just like surf city
the models n alternahunks
the xpensif restaraunts
the wine n seafood n ha ha ha
put it on the account eh, darling?
coming out for lunch down the pier, gang?
no we’re off on percys yacht
we’re having a long weekend down at cyrils n prus
champers n oysterfeast
the pearls are real
and forming in the sea
rehearsals closing in on me
incessant racquet n argy bargy
im too olde for it all
i want to sit in my caravan
and drink a mug of grreen tea n paint
i dont want to be anywhere at a particular time
i dont like traffic
i dont like sittin’ in cars all day
i dont like the misery n citys ripped backsides
i dont like the tunnels full o’ fumes
but i like you
and i dont like to say goodbye
but i must
thats it
xxxx