Shouting

My voice is very loud

So loud, that at full strength
It can demolish a building

My voice sounds normal to you
Because I am whispering
Very, very quietly.

When I was six
I became so excited
Watching a football match
That I shouted
And deafened several players
The shock wave
Burst the ball.

No one knew it was me.
A freak underground explosion
The local paper said.

As I grew
So did my shout

 When I was nine
My mother took me for tests
She explained to the doctor
About my voice
But you could see he didn’t believe her

I remember wondering
What would happen to him
As the ambulance drove him away

Las Vegas

I need a bigger pen

to write about Las Vegas

and a bigger book to write it in
A pen
with pictures of Elvis
or the Rat Pack
etched on its barrel
picked out in diamonds
and rubies
A book
covered in the skin of okapi
its leaves rolled from the finest papyrus
stolen from a Pharoah’s tomb

And I must clear my mind
as I write about Vegas
of Elvis singing Heartbreak Hotel
to the jingle of slots
and Frank singing
My Way
on a loop
from here to eternity

At the End of the Day

At the end of the day

all you have left is the night
When all is said and done
all you have left is companionable silence
When the fat lady has sung
all you have left are empty seats
and used plastic beakers
At the end of the line
all you have left is an empty carriage
and discarded Metros
At the end of a lollipop?
The stick
At the end of a dream?
Harsh daylight and broken blinds
a cold bed
At the end of a book
the after images of words
a maelstrom of thoughts
the plastic petals of hope and heartbreak
already leaking through
gaps in the memory bank
and sluicing along the gutters
towards the end of the poem.
And then what?
A pause for reflection
or maybe time
for a brew

Feeling Sorry For A

Some people feel sorry for A

Few people travel there,
it’s a starting point
if you’re heading for B.
But not I.
It is a first choice destination, after all.

Some people feel sorry for B

but I think
it’s useful to have it up your sleeve.
It’s a back-up plan
It is a popular destination.

I feel sorry for C.
No one travels from A to C.
And how often does plan C come into effect?

I feel sorry for the others, too
with the exception of X of course
who is a bit of a grump,
always marking things wrong
but is very good
at marking the spot

Spider Woman

Now we know
What's behind

The Pink Door

She enters, takes a bow
To applause and cutlery
She wears a red satin top
Black tights
She swings easily on the loops
Of blue silk
To La Vie en Rose
By Edith Piaf

You ease
a fat finger of crab
from its shell
glance up at the Spider Woman

as the music grows louder
As she spins those fantastic shapes above you
Shapes rarely configured by humans

But this doesn’t excite you
No

Only when she slips
Lets go of the blue silk
And tumbles
With a spider’s luck
Into a bowl
Of oyster chowder

Do you nod
A smile of satisfaction
As if you had expected that

You dab your mouth delicately
With a white napkin
Before checking
An incoming text

Tea Ceremony

Sadly

In the Seattle Art Museum
We didn’t have time to watch
The Japanese Tea Ceremony
Video

The Naming of Stones in California

Amethyst for wisdom

Obsidian for protection from unknown spirits
Rose quartz for protection from blushing
Wear a tiger stone and
you will never be caught unawares by a tiger
Likewise Lapis will protect you from rabbits
Serpentine will protect you from unusual duck behaviour
(not, as many believe, from snakebite)
Nephrite will hold your hand
at confusing road junctions
Adventurine provides an antidote
to proselytizing parsons
Greyish rock with white flecks
will help you relax after a heavy meal
Turquoise for successfully looking something up on Google
And discovering you were right all along
Nephrite Jade for stiff necks
Iron Pyrite to guard you against shoddy souvenirs
and people talking bollocks