A small collection of poems, with original artwork, is now available to buy here: https://wordsforghosts.com/book/
There is also a free downloadable PDF version available.
All money raised will be donated to Spirit of the Rainbow Heron.
Past // Present // Future
Each anticipated day arrives &
elides into the past,
as we wait,
again,
but for what?
How long will it take
for the pattern to change?
When will the cycle end?
With no past the future
becomes a desert &
the desert grows,
surrounding us
with the slow
creeping
of midnight mist…
with no future
the present becomes a test
you will fail unless
you refuse
to fight against
the meaninglessness
& dance instead
with the absurdity
Ocean Eyes
With your tongue in my mouth
you try to tease out
the secret of my silence,
but I keep it hidden
like
a garden
full of dead
& dying
flowers.
With your tongue in your mouth
you make sounds
that unfold my rib cage, take
each strange organ
in your hands &
show me that
bones need not be broken
to be open.
Somehow,
in the blue reflection of your ocean
eyes, the poison in these organs
rise like vapour to the sky;
somehow,
that ocean brings me back to life.
So let me in
& see
if I will sink
or swim.
Harmonic Shivers
For S
The heart is only an organ:
anthropomorphisation of the flesh
is just another lie
but
poetry doesn’t need truth:
My heart speaks to you
& my skin dreams of you.
Harmonic shivers* slither up my spine
whenever I think of all those times we
spent together.
My fingertips have memories
of what we did to each other;
my liver is in mourning, my
veins keep flowing
as my spine
is shivering.
Élégiaque
For A
I no longer see why I should try not to relent
when the instinct kicks in:
fight or flight will never be a choice for
creatures like me:
some mammals just freeze…
but anyway,
please go ahead & tell me
about the problems
that weigh you down;
tell me about
the rivals who now also know
the sweet taste of your mouth,
& the others
that now know the secrets you hide inside…
Without you,
I see no reason not to think about
the old city & about
that lost life all the time:
a bride deprived of sensation & sight
after the bitter disappointment of
another dismal,
cliché wedding night,
through the senseless everything
I want to run,
run,
run
away
into
the bathetic,
self-inflicted
fuck up
of oblivion,
longing to forget everything,
except a dream I think I once had
I (still) adore you
For S
Every time we’re near enough to touch
each other,
my body forgets the regrets
buried deep
in my mind & in my liver.
Do you remember when
we listened to that cover song
below a muted sun
as we waited
for a plane to take us away?
Just you & me
singing
& free:
I can’t remember a more beautiful
moment
between us;
I can’t listen to that song
any more…
but I will always adore you
just as we sang to each other
in that final summer
of our happiness.
