We’ve known each other all our lives.

You’ve been there for me day and night,

every minute, every hour,

without me even trying.

I have taken you for granted, all the time,

and I am sorry.

I only know I need you when you’re running short,

shallow, caught or less.

I’ve seen you lend yourself

to other chests, to fading days,

dying lights. Heard you roar,

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and that you have to pay attention, sit and listen,

that you feel you cannot clap or click,

sing or dance or move,                                                                         

that I cannot let you lose yourself in rhythm.

That I can’t buzz bass deep in your belly,

melt your skeleton to jelly,

that I will not lift you clear from your daily woes and fears,

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we are one

chained communication

not manacled, locked

in meditative mantra

linked    

submitting to a

deliquescing lexicon

how does my heartbeat replicate

this song? how do my limbs know

how to sing along?

fingers mimic intricate design

i am triangle, ribbonesque

wrapped within a miracle

of sun spots, ink blots, euphoric drops

and k...

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I’m not supposed to find this attractive.

It’s taboo.

We’re told only smooth will do,

pink and tight elastic

tied to remedies, sold over counters of despair.

You have to care about the bounce,

virtue by the fluid ounce.

We’re absolutely not allowed

to love the mirror’s twin.

Tucks, lifts, elevations

not this naked admiration; shameless.

I don’t know w...

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Now I am immortalised, I get to see it

play across the ancient page forever.

Me the bad cess and black pariah.

He the one I ruined with my murder. 

Fickle world that turns a truth

over for a lie.

Beforetime, I would navigate magnetically.

Majestic spread tip to tip, southern winds would

never grip my heart in cold embrace.

I rarely had to stir to make my way...

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Roses are red

yellow, orange, white, blue, black and pink.

‘Romance’ stands outside of this.

Meaning colours petals

never meant to send a message;

nature couldn’t give a shit if Tim and Tania

fuck and call it love.

Hallmark really care (about their profit) though.

Roses grow in muck

and Aphrodite’s tears never watered them.

It’s just association.

Sy...

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Thought I'd post a video for a change!  This is from last week's gig. I'm Not A Racist, But, and a couple of drabbles entitled Host and Fruit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIDMJsvE9ps

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It was begging for a flask of tea.

Some friendly grief to ease

competitive tears,

pomp and fallacy,

clip-clopped concrete.

Not another curtsey, criss-cross

2am Catholic duty.

It was dying for some hot and sweet;

warm to whet collective whistle,

char to shuffle,

not like cards,

the Queen of Hearts in Carroll’s hand.

No rabbit, black, plucked from hats

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Part One

Simon said

Resistance is

futile

measured in

futile meaning

directly proportional to

equal to

futile meme.

And I thought

has he

gotten back to you

got enough money to spend

got a car

feelings for me

a girlfriend

a passport assertive sentence?

Did he really use

birds to send messages

the USS Missouri in Battleship

h...

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This

is not

a ‘resting bitch face’.

This

is the face

of a woman who has done a full day’s work.

She’s tired, doesn’t need your little smirks

or daft asides so just be quiet.

After work, she fetched food, made tea,

washed up, watched TV, fell asleep.

Her electricity is steep. 

She’s back to Sunday baths,

one day a week to keep clean

with a strip ...

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but I am on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

I am supported, square, girdled by self-care

and the knowledge that the now is ever-present.

I am centred, level, and I never give an inch

to unbalanced or irrational aggression.

But I would really like to write a ranty rhyme.

Perhaps an incandescent ballad, a vicious villanelle,

enraged acrostic or a livid limerick.

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No one could believe that our sun was really gone.

Was it us? Something that we did, or hadn’t done?

We felt numb. Then rage

against the dying of the light.

Facing endless night we tried to conjure it with candlelight,

but tallow only goes a certain way and that’s down.

We fell to the ground in despair

where we stayed, thinking

morning wouldn’t come

so we’d better...

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They have strained every sinew,

pulled out all the stops,

thrown the kitchen sink at it,

and worked around the clock.

They have bent over backwards,

bust a gut,

the whole nine yards;

struggled, striven, toiled,

they are Trojan, double-hard.

They have tortured every puppy,

scalded every cat,

stripped skin and hair and tail,

then strangled every rat.

...

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Three days later,

we bought a Newton's cradle.

Put it on the table, and heartsick,

tried to click click click our way out of it.                 

But there's six strings missing,

a great big grin,

and a legendary faux fur coat.

There are two types of energy:

potential and kinetic.

One is energetic, inhabiting space.

One anticipates

velocity, force.

...

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This began with whispered words,

bites from shiny apples;

a desire to command, create;

a hunger to articulate intensity,

to mechanise a melody inside.

This commenced with prephonation;

tutoring of simple lips,

tentatively glossolalic.

Patterns forming,

disconnected information circling itself,

pulling at phonetic cords of morphemes

and spitting ...

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We would like a happy ending here.

We would like a happy ending here.

We would like a happy ending here.

We would like a happy ending here.

We would like a happy ending here.

We would like an ending.

HERE.

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Jobs in your area! Do YOU want to care?

We have vacancies everywhere, quality assured,

person-centred care and support.

Take your pick, we will fit you in. Fair pay,

hours that you want to work, and holidays.

We’re flexible, adaptable, you’re able and available.

Great! And they’ve promised me

hours in my area. I won’t have to travel too far.

Sign here……………………...

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Spare the rod and spoil the child.

Never did me no harm.

It’s what we called a ‘good hiding’.

How else are they gonna learn?

You’ll feel the back of my hand, young man.

I’ll box your ears for sure.

I reserve the right to use reasonable force

to physically punish the small.

I refuse to see the irony,

recycling of violence,

desensitizing little kids,

stampi...

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Hey Billy Big Balls,

spreading on the seat,

just how much space does one man need?

Did you buy two tickets,

one for each knee?

‘Cause they’re taking up the space that my legs need.      

Hey Billy Big Balls,

spreading on the train,

such a vast sack must cause great pain.

Have you been to the doctor,

or had them examined?

They shouldn’t be the size of a ca...

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Fur coat, no knickers.

No better than she ought to be.

Common as muck.

Too clever for her own good.

Slung out lines to stunt and mould,

ensure she doesn't reach her goals.

Keep her tight inside a box,

locked away from greatness.

Slappers, tarts, MILFs and cougars,

girl next door with Page 3 hooters,

sluts and slags and dirty bitches,

fried egg tits a...

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From packet and clipper, from Royal destroyer,

with prayer and with hymn

and a rum-drenched Amen,                                                                              

goodbye to the matelot and captain;

so long to the boatswain and master.

We're chanting to ease up the passing.

The last one is sung in a million tongues.

Grief-soaked and lonesome

haul hard...

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Mavis had a room

that didn’t have a name.

You did not dine,

you did not live,

it was not kitchen,

was not front,

was not back or parlour.

Mavis had this furniture

that I had never seen.

It was not settee,

was not armchair,

was not pouffe,

for phone,

or couch divan.

Mavis had this massive room

full of golden sunshine.

Floating motes whi...

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Snakes don't kiss.

I know this because I used to be one,

in a former life,

long time ago,

biblically speaking.

Snakes don’t kiss cos their hiss gets in the way,

and that long long tongue you see with the V?

Gets all tangled when two snakes frenchie.

No, snakes don't kiss.

But never take a bet on it,

especially with a snake.

'Cause apart from not kissing, ...

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Fifty seven accusations.

Fifty seven lies. 

Fifty seven secret pleasures.

Fifty seven stolen lives.

Fifty seven invitations.

Fifty seven spiders waiting.

Fifty seven true intentions.

Fifty seven parlours entered.

Fifty seven aggravations.

Fifty seven silent gains.

Fifty seven violations.

Fifty seven acts of shame.

Fifty seven allegations.

...

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(to the tune of 'The Holly and the Ivy')

There's cameras in the holly

way above the line of sight,

and a neon sign on the roundabout

"One punch can kill tonight".

Well thank you for the warning

and increased security,

I'll be double-sure not to shoplift

now you're looking out for me.

It's nice to be surrounded

by markers of your greed,

and a lack of ...

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My hair is clean and brushed and smart.

Hers is drenched and dirty.

I am wearing cosy clothes.

She is bare and purple.

I'm inhaling bluebell air.

She is breathing fire.

I am watching pixellated subjects of denial.

I am strong and tall, unbowed.

She is weak and wailing.

I am fifty years of age.

She is but a baby.

I have biscuits on my lips.

She has frot...

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(to the tune of Que sera sera)

When I was  only 12 years old,
I shaved my armpits
bare as can be.
Will I be sexy?
Will I be fit?

Here's what they said to me:

'Oh the itch the itch!

Whatever possessed you, bitch,

to bulk-buy a load of Bics.

Oh the itch the itch'

When I grew up I carried on
hacking my arm pits
week after week.
Did it get better?
Did it hurt less?
H...

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She keeps secrets in me.

Lifts my lid for privacy,

blows bubbles in my guts,

leaving evidence inside

with full impunity.

I am discreet

rebellion.

He spits bile inside me.

Hatred for his mummy

and the baby

and the way the teacher treats him

like he's soft.

He's not.

I contain his scarlet ache safely.

I display names and dates,

scratched in...

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Remember watching Motorhead

in Bingley Hall in Stafford?

The time that fella's ears bled?

Lemmy's warts,

the wall of sound,

and Philthy going mad?

Remember where we stood that night?

And how that fella, six foot three,

came and stood in front of me,

so we just moved a step along

and simply carried on?

At every single gig for years

a giant stood in...

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He sticks the blinkers on

and blindfold, counts out the sorrows

of no one he knows.

Puts them in a drawer,

locked with a careless key,

kicking doors shut

on notions of equality.

His side of the seesaw hangs heavy,

unbalanced, biased towards

the full and sated belly.

Wallet and tongue keep close company.

Sees with one eye only one vision:

singular,

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Remember to look up at the stars

Not the kind who whine about their first world problems on a million different channels

always me me me

to look up at the stars and not down at your feet

and reach out to the universe with all your tiny fingertips

and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see

in a world where reality TV isn't real

a...

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You won't see Celia in silhouette on rebel chests,

marching over coffee cups,

diminished to an image on a tiny little badge,

on a backpack, khaki cap or six foot flag.

And you won't see Celia on key rings,

magnets, belt buckles, armbands,

black berets, red berets, playing cards or calendars,

bumper stickers, kitchen clocks,

acrylic blocks or lithographs,

writin...

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It's such a happy homely brand,

such a loving hand to hold.

Nothing says "forced adoration" quite the same

as an overpriced printed bit of Hallmark card.

Though I came in drunk last night

and all we've done is fight,

and we haven't actually spoken for a week,

this greeting card's designed to wipe out

all the battle lines and it's guaranteed

an armistice today.

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I'm in my prime.

I swapped my firm and tight-fit skin

for confidence and knowledge

that within this ageing frame

lies a body of experience,

a warrior of thought

who brings her wisdom to the table,

leaves her ego at the door,

and won't descend to bitter ends.

I'm not exactly Miss Jean Brodie.

I'm in my prime

and looking back at how it felt

to live withi...

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Sod wearing purple,

I’m gonna fake dementia.

Sup single malt in Tesco aisles

and Jose Cuervo Gold.                   

Steal Thornton’s biggest fuck-off box

of truffles, milk and dark.

Then stuff my face with Krispy Kremes,

leave fingermarks on magazines.

I’ll ride the roads in off-peak times,

rob Asdas far and wide.

A North West quest to shoplift shite

funded ...

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United we stand,

with kindness and care. Without?

Divided we fall.

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Fifty years of violet fire's

ashes gather in his mind;

once a man and twice a child,

dandelions have two lives.

When he was Buck, he stoked the guts   

of battle class destroyers,

all brawn and heft and sweat and musk;

a dandy matelot wanderer.

Carousing and careening girls,

forget-me-nots around the world,

action stations, ocean waves,

60 feet or mo...

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Down at Tit-Squash Central,

we're waiting for our scans.

Our tops are on and off and on

and off and on, again.

Our boobs are lubed and drawn on,               

we're told to 'just relax',

then tits are clamped securely

within the x-ray's grasp.

My boobs are horizontal now

and flatter than before.

It feels as though they might explode,

I think they've gone...

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I LIKE CAPITALS

to emphasise my endless

slapstick politics.

What Constitution?

I have to read all of it?!

Tangerine screaming.

Chattering unchained:

No such thing as climate change!!

No such thing as proof?

Meanwhile, peace deals fall,

fundamental laws ignored;

the world stands aghast.

Yates sacked. Spicer sacked.

Bannon, Flynn and Co...

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I'm gonna smoke until my teeth fall out,

suck custard out of doughnuts.

Do fantastic farts

in other people's cars

then pretend not to notice when they're choking.

I'm gonna drink myself to dregs,

smell of old eggs, inspect my dentures

in McDonalds

at the counter,

then deliver massive lectures about climate change and ethics.

I'm gonna burn,

I'm gonna...

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I cut my hair afterwards.

Thought we'd have a chance

to re-create the early days.                                                                             

Hadn't really banked on the chasm of his need.

Thought that if I made him laugh,

made him soup, filled his mind,

made a space for him to find his feet

then he'd be fine

and the grieving would be brief.

I ...

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Tai Chi

he said,

convinced of the wisdom by a pretty girl in uniform.

I can do it in my chair

he said,

oblivious to all the times I'd made the same suggestion.

I've never done Tai Chi

he said.

They do it in the village hall, it doesn't cost a lot.

I can even go alone

he said.

I won't need chaperoning, there'll be loads of people there.

I...

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Jacob has no womb.

His sex is all consensual.

He has no fear of penetration

forced, unwanted, life-changing.

Rees-Mogg has no vagina.

His hole is not for birthing.

He cannot have a human being

forced, unwanted, life-changing.

A man with full autonomy,

security and privilege

proclaims a warped morality,

forced, unwanted, life-changing.

He clam...

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we congregate

at 3am

huddled, not with hands together,

(no one prays out loud)

in silent supplication to whatever

can remove us from this hour

we do not have our hands together

prayers are whispered inwardly

desperation tethered to the tiny tips of light

as they hurtle down from high above

this no smoking arena

we do not pray out loud

this ensembl...

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Berries big as thumbs

surprise me on a sunny day.

They've come too soon, haven't they?           

I thought that they'd be later.

I'm pretty sure that blackberries

ripen in the autumn, not the summer.

But I pick them anyway,

delighted with the find

then buckle from a sideways swipe

that death as big as life

surprised me on a sunny day too.

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You with the pink eyes

don't be discouraged.

Oh I realize

it's hard to take courage

in a world full of people

who are all the wrong colour,

you can lose sight of it all

and the darkness inside you

can make you feel so tall.

But I see your true colours

shining through.

I see your true colours

and that's why I loathe you.

So don't be afraid to let the...

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Summer triggers memories

of paddling and orange Quosh,

butties squashed in paper, waxy white,

and leather sandals at the lido

just in case of broken glass.

We plough backwards to the past,

furrows made of glory.

It's a double-edged sword

but we have these golden memories

of life-affirming Thermos flasks

and Sunday baths and safety.

Summer triggers me...

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Mrs May she had the lead

E I E I O

but wanted BIG majority

E I E I O

With a snap vote here and a shite campaign

Strong and stable falling by the wayside

Mrs May she had the lead

E I E I O

The lead was cut considerably

E I E I O

By turning weak and wobbly

E I E I O

With a no-show here and a u-turn there

Deficient in charisma with a hawk-eyed glare

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Her poem punched holes in the blind-eyed walls,

made beats with her teeth

and bullets with her tongue.

Bang bang went her gun

made of eloquent rage

as she kicked out ire on a war-torn page.

She drank deep of electricity,

crackling ferocity;

there is no mediocrity in her world's eye.

Now her fire feeds mine

and our minds come alive

and we rise like lions a...

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teeny tweeny little girls

and boys without their mothers

daddies waiting by the doors

do not expect their daughters

to be caught on camera

flecked in horror

running for their lives

or murdered on a Monday night in Manchester

unmartyred

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