Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Train Stops


The train stops
In the shadow
Of a concrete bridge
Half-hearted graffiti

Frost scattered like salt
On a row of metal boxes
Full of railway electronics I guess

A sack of pebbles
Spilled on the grubby weeds
A dead, grey buddleia
Waits for the spring

As the train starts up
And trundles into East Croydon
A phone rings
A loud voice answers it

A young, future-artist
Should take on the job
Of colouring in all that drab graffiti

Friday, July 20, 2012

Poem About My Mother


I’m thinking of writing a poem
About my mother
She’s in a home now
One of those homes
For people who can’t remember things
This is very worrying
As both my Mother
And my Dad’s mother
Had that disease
It’s on both sides of the family
It affects your short term memory first

I mean
Have you ever found yourself
Walking into a room
And wondering why you are there?

We’re clearing out our parents’ house
My sisters and I
Boxes and boxes
Of accumulated stuff
Rubbish, ordinary things
And a few treasures

Dad’s suits are still hanging
In the wardrobe
Destined for the charity shop
Probably in fashion again soon
Dad died fifteen years ago
We also found a brush
With hair still attached
It could be Dad’s.
Dad’s DNA
Still with us, after all this time.

Of course, it could be the dog’s hair.
The dog died around the same time.

Or it could Mum’s hair.
She’s still with us
She’s in a home now
One of those homes
For people who can’t remember things
This is very worrying
As both my Mother
And my Dad’s mother
Had that disease
It’s on both sides of the family
It affects your short term memory first

I mean
Have you ever found yourself
Walking into a poem
And wondering how it’s going to end?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Railway Passenger Three Line Poem


Hey, railway passenger
With your middle-distance eyes
Don’t look so gloomy

Friday, July 13, 2012

Paradox No 39


He’s not alone.
Callum Innes (born 1962)

I know that everyone does it
But shouldn’t someone point it out?

That Untitled No 39 (2012) Oil paint on canvas
Is, in fact, titled?