poetry

The Blacksmith

the hammerthe horseshoe the iron the heat the barrel the water the rushing release the strain the brow the eyes …

Something about butterflies

Always small rooms and square, white places, limited possessions gatheredup, unpacked and packed again every few years. You betsomeone probably …

Tea leaf

The tea leaf swirlsout the spout, birthedinto the mug – it’s amazingto see how it’s grown,I’m so proudI could cry, …

Drive

Drilling into the barnyard dark, probingout curves like a dentist diggingdown into decay, workingup the other side of the valley, …

Mouth of the Mine

The maw of the old mineshaft reminded meof the stove-in mouthof an end-of-the-line lush,left gaping there glistening by bored kids, …

Fire

I heave up another lungful of gulped down stars and margarita moon (behind: a guitar plinks and ripples and twangs, …

Hayfever Sketch

At that moment in the long grass, or weeds, or whatever they were – but long, long, two feet at …

Scene in the Gents

I watch you working the body with a boxer’s predatory rhythm, ravaging that tin box like werewolf a fairytale maid, …

Buckshot

She took her things that lined the shelves, they left holes in the dust like buckshot in a stag’s flank. …

Water Glass Moth

You cling to my finger like a newborn.The same weight that clogged your engines and draggedyou down to drown now …

Rockpools

By the seathe urge to screamdrains awaylike the tidefrom the rockpools. Of courseit will return againbut for now you can …

Cow

Machines liftyour hulking massweightless, O wingless angel slityou giveand give and give. You area huge and creakingoaken tankof red grape …

2024

I knew it was wrong but the allure in the starling sky that spring evening was overpowering – the same …