Death at Christmas

The tree is up and the lights are on The glow is bright and warm   But I feel cold     The tree is real, not a plastic job   The colour is green, but parts are yellow   and the ferns are falling     The glow may be bright   But theContinue reading “Death at Christmas”

Revisiting a Childhood Home

  The smell of sleeping mouths hanging wide open; damp fumes spreading.   A pair of shoes with black melted plastic soles sizzling next to the fire.   A panting beast – it’s dreams interrupted with the occasional snore – with bottom parked on singed shoes.   A pair of red ankles emerging from beneath theContinue reading “Revisiting a Childhood Home”

Liver

  Eat it up.   It’s good for you.   Especially at your time of the month.     Why?     Why am I expected to eat a brown fibrous lump full of open caverns, jugular veins, worm casings and the concrete tubes on kid’s playgrounds?     If I eat it, I’ll onlyContinue reading “Liver”

Sibling Territory

  Magazines neatly piled –   the edges all lined up with each other and parallel to the edges of the table.   A dust-free table and a strong smell of furniture polish, toothpaste and starch.   Shirts hanging in the wardrobe;   each hanger exactly two centimetres from its neighbour – not a creaseContinue reading “Sibling Territory”

Preserve

  glass impenetrable   where is the odour   coming from?     a toe nail flickers   the liquid yellows   and thickens     can I break the crystal box?   your toes cry out   untouched, unloved     your sweet smell   grows foul   with decay     Copyright ownedContinue reading “Preserve”

Who are the ‘Bus Wankers’?

A collection of poems about the author’s bus travels, dedicated to the inspirational lads (clearly avid fans of the In-Betweeners) who drive past her bus stop every day, shouting ‘Bus Wankers!’ The ‘Bus Wanker’ poetry collections represents a plea to all councillors, across the UK, looking to save money by demolishing our much-loved bus stations. Instead, councillors should beContinue reading “Who are the ‘Bus Wankers’?”

‘F***, like?’

Well, like, I kind of like her. What, like, you fancy her, like? Yeah, I know like that she’s a bit sassy like, but … You like her? Yeah, like she’s fit, like, and fun! Fit, like? Yeah, like you know, like with Kardashian tits, like, and stuff. Stuff like a fat a***, like? Yeah,Continue reading “‘F***, like?’”

Isolation

Back-seat. Isolation. Elevated. Absence of old-dear smiles! Lens-wipes. Indulgence … An open book – Words waiting for absorption … Rattles and bumps – a soothing sound … Concentration. Perfection. Damp hair, unwashed and odorous. Itchy sinuses, Swishing leather straps, resonant buckles and tags. A dog-owner – expectant, proud, seeks admiration, a collaborative look, mutual affectionContinue reading “Isolation”

Exhumed

  Knackered, exhumed, drawn-out, mesmerised … H & M tempts, siphoning up the remnants of me through a straw hat, bidding me with flesh-striped leggings, to sport my way over, fly over the stationary traffic, to zone out the time-wasters, to make mockery of the drivers queuing for home.   I take off …   upContinue reading “Exhumed”