frightening, baffling

those are people,
people people
faces
scarey faces.
What is behind?
What is inside?
Masks, masks and movements, 
movements and words. 
Fear, being afraid
of people.
Nerves jangling
more than nerves
very much anxious. 
Words and movements!!
What do they mean?
What does that mean? 
and this mean?
and that mean? 
and the touches which are bad-worst of a...

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The messaging boy rode his bike hands-free
past the house where the man slew his parents.
Oblivious, the boy was hungry for life.
The man was hungry for death.

It's a risky business having children.
They do dangerous things,
cycling helmet-less along busy roads
both hands and both eyes
on the fascinating phone. 
They do dangerous things
like knifing you
repeatedly.

Those children.
...

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You brush past a bush, 
it ambushes, scratches you, you
hardly notice it, it
gets septic,
death follows.
The sniper picks out you, you
are the unlucky one, one
of the others could easily have been, been
shot, shot dead, but no,
death follows.
Life is boobytrapped. 
It's a minefield, any minute, minute
germs, viruses, bacteria can invade, invade
through the tiniest crack, crack
t...

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When the sale fell through,
Carl Side put his yoke and pike up for auction
At the place with the green gable
on the longside of the High Street. 
"Let's start on ten," said the auctioneer, a little man. 
"Five", said the grey friar.
"Too low, pike alone is worth eight," said the auctioneer. 
"I'll raise you twenty," said an old man. 
That's a high raise thought Carl.
"I'll raise another...

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When the falling corpse

Extinguishes the flame,

The Moth or the Candle,

Which is to blame?

And who is to blame

When both have been used,

When each trusting heart

Is mangled and bruised?

It cannot be helped.

Each Siren must sing.

The needle points North

And Hope must take wing.

Those made of iron

May skirt round the fact,

But you can't ...

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I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I understand

Na

I hear and I do not listen

I see and I forget

I do and I just might remember

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There must be lonelier graves

than Betty's

but few

and none lonelier on lonely Hoy.

Up there in the heather,

miles above the sound of sea.

Betty Corrigall.

Walked into the waves with no wedding ring.

No sacred vows,

just a sacred foetus,

but was rescued,

Saved.

For what? In a community that talked of salvation

but shunned her.

Finished the job a little lat...

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Do you know where Hoy is?
Heard of the Old Man
(back to him in a minute)
But do you know where it is?
The Orkneys.
God's backyard.
A golden place for our silver wedding holiday.
Caught the ferry to Hoy,
Wanting to see the Old Man,
As you do.
No sign of the hand of man, 
old or young,
in the wild windswept centre,
just the road and the heather. 
And then some cheery, elderly ramb...

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Whisper music in the orient wind.

Dress vision in a gown of purple.

Smell needs in the shadows.

Let pink urges sing honey,

Hot language sweat black diamonds. 

Play the sweet moment. 

Eternity is raining raw gifts.

White time is a mad mist

Above the lake of moonlight,

The ache of swimming in skin.

Whisper sweet music in the orient wind. 

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Ah

Hmmm

Yes

Ah well

Hey ho

Whoops

Damn

Tut tut

One day

Hard work

Never again

At least

A bit rough

Details

Nearly

Could have been

Almost

Close

On second thoughts

Just a bit

Oh dear

Darn it

Never mind

It doesn’t notice

You can’t tell

Not really

So that’s how

You don’t say

Of course

Well well

Next time

Plod o...

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If life is a slalom,

I've hit some sticks.

If life is a puzzle,

I've missed some tricks

If life is a maze,

Found some dead ends. 

If life's about pleasing,

I sometimes offend.

If life is the peaks,

I've found a few valleys.

If life is a race,

Oh dear I've dallied.

If life is a dance,

I'm clumsy and static.

If life is a song,

I belong in t...

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...out there, outhinking, outwitting

Outstanding, outshining,

Outspokenly outrageous.

Outclassing, outplaying, outperforming.  

Out of jobs they ought to have

Outrunning, outmanoeuvring, outsmarting.

Out shopping for outfits.

Out of their minds.

Out on the town.

Out of sight gorgeous. 

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~~incontestably, inexpressibly incomparable.
Intractably inscrutable.
Indiscreetly in on each others' intimate secrets.
Intrepid, independent, individual.
Infinitely ingenious interior designers.
Indisputably, inexhaustibly, indecisively infuriating.
Insanely indulgent, incorrigibly inquisitive.
Incalculably inconsistent, inalterably intransigent.
Infernally incommunicative, indubitably in...

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If you have to ride a bus

then you aren't one of us.

You're a loser

If you are on benefits

in our world, you don't fit.

You're a loser

If you've lost your crap pay job,

don't expect us to sob.

You're a loser.

If you're not rich or Brit

then we'll treat you just like shit

'cos you're a loser.

The losers are a problem,

the losers are a pain.

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He went to the returns counter

in the Shop of Days

and asked to bring back Tuesday.

It hadn't worked well.

He thought it had been oversold,

overpriced and over too soon. 

If they wouldn't take it back,

he would see

if days were obtainable elsewhere.

A place with a good returns policy

for the disappointed.

She went to the returns counter

in the Shop of Days 

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God the extrovert

builds Saturn.

What a show.

What a show-off.

God the introvert

hides, slips away.

Slopes off.

God the extrovert

builds marvels, peacocks, eyes of flies, crystals

maybe because he/she can – they look great

but then

she stays holed up

still hiding.

God the ultimate extrovert

builds the whole fucking amazing universe

then

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