Bah! humbug.

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 How do I love my shoes?

Let me count the ways.

I love their comfort and style and price.
When my foot can slip in

easily,

when kicking out of sight

foolish Insults and remarks.
I love them for their shine

and waterproofing,
Quiet in the walking,

By sun and torch-light.
I love the comfort as men

strive for Comfort.
I love their fashionability,

as they bask In praise...

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We've each got different partners now
and we're having a real nice time
we both agreed to separate
Parsley Sage Rosemary and ...

We both were once so in love
now we just stay in touch
we cherish the time we once had
as we don't see each other much.

I once saw her on the bus
once chatted on the phone
we've sent each other a couple of  texts
at work, on the bus, and at home.
        ...

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We both have different partners now
we're both having a real nice time
we both agreed to separate
Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme

We both were once so in love
now we just stay in touch
we cherish the time that we once had
as we don't see each other so much.

I once saw her on the bus
we sometimes chat on the phone
we sometimes send each other texts
at work, the bus, and home.
.     ...

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pots and pans

and mirrored images

mash and makeup

how you looked

and how we cooked

hair in a bun

and a cup on the wall

the way things were-

one I put together

the other tore apart

one I could recreate-

the other never.

Liverpool 1978

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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stranger to stranger

re-edit

words and foto Tommy Carroll

Did you ever walk on side-ways
to see a different point of view?
or sit and rest awhile in bye-ways
and think on things
and think them through?

Yes I have sat and also rested
sat and also thought things through
I have often walked on side-ways
it's my thinking of life's bye-ways
that gives me my side-ways

point o...

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Watch the tv

gasp

then

dance in anger

point to the clock

and twirl

perhaps all the foreigners

will pack their

own bags- smiling

and leave behind

their rejection.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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In memory of Ariel Sharon Sunday 12th January 2014

Mr Cameron, Conservative

said: "Mr Sharon had taken brave and

controversial ddecision.

Not my words- not my foto T Carroll

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Bombs away but what the heck?

I can't see kids

no need to check

if it's ISIS or ISIL

they're somewhere down there

so what do I care?

oh oh

what do I care?

and what if families

wait in fear

when the mission's complete

we'll raise a cheer

so what do I care?

oh oh

what do I care?

millions dead

go check the figures

but ten equals one

when it comes ...

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Back where I was once

I am now contrived,

Awaiting the return trip;

Waiting in strained advance-

Abandoned thus obliged.

This situationist event

Becomes an angry retort:

To reply to actions

One must think

of the consequences-

Or file a 'Missing' report.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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The trouble with Derek

was that he was a socialist

The trouble with Derek

was that he was working class

that he was from Liverpool

The trouble with Derek

was that he thought quickly

that he spoke quickly

that he had a sense of humour

The trouble with Derek

was that he had the support

of those that elected him

that he had a mandate

The trou...

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When you speak

you serve then leave bits of

yourself, the bits that have

hung around the kitchen,

bits that like waiters tending tables,

you offer into our arguments,

the words, like arms reaching

then folded, with grammar

like legs kicking

and you asking

"how can I be of service?

words and foto Tommy Carroll

rewrite

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When you speak

you serve then leave bits of

yourself, the bits that have

hung around the kitchen,

bits that like waiters tending tables,

you offer into our arguments,

the words, like arms reaching

then folded with legs kicking

and you asking- "how can I be of service?

how ?"

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"Ok " she replied.

The kitchen clock recalled-

she checked her 'phone.

She moved the box and

sat on the bed-

gripping the belt

of her gown

she beaded it's material

through chapped and

nail bitten fingers.

Down stairs a door closed

and the toilet flushed.

She heard the sounds of the street

the front door shut with force.

She held her bre...

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"Ok ok" she said.

Recalling the kitchen clock

she checked her 'phone.

She moved the box and

sat on the bed

she gripped the belt

of her gown

and beaded it's material

between chapped fingers.

Down stairs a door shut

and a toilet flushed.

She heard the sounds of the street

another door shut.

She held her breath

and looked at a photo

that she now ...

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a recollection of her,

of my looking out

of a sunny window,

my face warmed

by its glass,

I blinked-

and unbeknown to me

she walked past

and through my

line of sight,

she had looked in

and was gone.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

(substantial rewrite)

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A memory,

a recollection of her

of my looking out

of a sunny window,

my face warmed by its glass,

I blinked, as she walked past

and through my line of sight,

and unbeknown to me

she had looked in

and was gone.

rewrite;

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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I stood and stared-

a long time seeking a

welcome gaze

that returned my greeting.

The World stared back

then went its way,

perhaps to lunch, perhaps

to play.

My friend the Mirror-

a listener of sorts,

in silence watched

and kept its thoughts.

Words and foto T Carroll

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The hanging drabs-

that by summer's leave-

are blown and flurry

from winter's cleave.

words and foto by Tommy Carroll

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I stood and stared-

a long time seeking

a welcome gaze

that returned my greeting.

The World stared back

then went its way,

perhaps to lunch,

perhaps to play.

My friend the Mirror-

a listener of sorts,

in silence watched

and kept its thoughts.

Words and foto T Carroll

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I now recall her smile

her voice and words

that when gathered gently

-like the matched corners

of a folded towel-

were placed between 

her letters in my drawer

and like the now hidden

memory of her face

her parted lips in silence

said more than

spoken breath while

her shadowed looks

and gaze now hid

its mark.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

re...

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Noggin the nog

and muffin the mule

will ...... you .......

... .. ....... ... drool?

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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Liverpool drew

Two pints of Stella

Sausage, mash and onion gravy

Late Junction

What now?

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"Ignore the unfounded

rumours of pus-

in your milk

and other stuff

which are also

quite scary, "

said the white coated chap

with the clipboard and cap

and the man who's in charge

of the dairy.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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Fuck god
Fuck the queen
Fuck the fucking fuckers.

 Yours truly
 the fucked.

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...and what's is more

who! who decides

who! decided

what is the best or

otherwise the best

of his poems

because Dylan wrote

what he wrote in a

in a pub?

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My car is a bus

my house is rented

my job is advertised

my pizza is, I do not eat pizza

my clothes are charitable​

my asthma is genetic

my music is catholic

my drink is seldom

my arguments are valid

my suits are cheap because the people who make them are getting a pittance in the far east.

my talent is wasted

my brilliance is not far behind

my food is from the T...

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In an emergency:

Absinthe: 1 measure in a gulp

Swill and spit

Absinthe: handy for the

removal of toe-jam

#Remember to put that foul tasting

concoction back in

the medicine cabinet.

(at the back)

Absinthe penance in a bottle.

words etc

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prologue

In the mirror I held a face

that held a face's stare,

In that mirror

the face that stared

stared back at me in fear...

They came upon slowing traffic.

Inside a war-torn bus

standing passengers were gently rocked.

They were driven along an unfinished road.

Unfinished roads were you

become convinced

that each rock and pothole

were placed carefully...

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She offers him a slice of peach-

he looks to the stars instead.

She lifts a burning ember

as a tribute to his face-

which he ignores.

She crosses her eyes

the glowing tip between them-

he looks straight up.

She sighs and counts the stars.

Her voice is as a child’s,

Shirley Temple: the star-counter.

She looks at him and frowns.

Her finger numbers them- again.

...

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And so to do battle with the words

(much easier said than done)

for, upon their sad reflection

they're much easier read than won.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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And so to do battle

than done)

for, upon their

sad reflection

they're much easier

read than won.

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"Ignore the unfounded rumours

of pus- in your milk,

and others

which are also quite scary,"

said the white coated chap

with the clipboard and cap

and the man who's

in charge of the dairy.

words and foto T Carroll

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Rattering tattering

slam-dunk battering

precipitous squall

from a louring sky-fall

as if any of this

is mattering.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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I need minds

sharp minds

with heart

minds and hearts

and

(sotto voce)

take your lips

and place them

against my ear

and...

start whispering

...

...

re-edit

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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Vertices lll

Jan folded the letter

running a finger along its crease.

She looked up-

somebody was explaining functionality.

She stared:

the new argument was written

on the white board-

she returned to the letter.

Another fold another plane,

pressing and creasing,

opening, rereading,

vertices missed,

words realigned.

Sentences brokered

with each new conf...

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Our Cilla (your Cilla) is dead!

For Gods sake what is

this world coming to?

A dead Cilla is no Cilla at all.

Jesus Christ Almighty. Amen.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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​

The hour is slim!

the time to entwine

with her

and with advantage

inhale

the heavy offering

from between the jaws

of her open thighs.

Persephone's tasty flesh

renders her cleft

of wet truth-

she can slake this thirst-

can assuage my ache

when, enthralled against

the serpent earth,

with legs knotted,

we lay tangled

in ancient ruin.

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I left the party early.

My letrasetted syntax

with its addled lexicon

and garbled scrabble

pattern

left with

its coat and hat still on.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

​

​

​

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Annual posting of the Tour

oooh ahhh

oooh ahhh

oooh ahhh...

aching buttocks

aching thighs

unseen crowds

unseen skies

between the shoulders

lakes of fire

stinging eyes

on the spinning tyre

calves and heart

will explode

grip the handles

eat the road

kilo meters

whirring chains

mountain passes

grassy planes

the body's racked

the bod...

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-a rap-

We clap some Blacks,

them entertaining Blacks,

on stage, in film and racing tracks

tho' we mow the shacks

and dish out smacks

to those working blacks.

We clap them Blacks

and forget them whacks

and the blistered backs

of hands that buy

the music tracks

and then we clap them

Blacks them stand-up Blacks

but not them bent over blac...

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The wind it tackles

the leaves and the litter

the leaves and the litter

the leaves and the past

the sun it is drying

the paint and the puddles

the paint and the puddles

the paint and the past

I saw the bend coming

the bend was approaching

the bend in the road

that soon would be passed

I saw her look sadden

she feared I was leaving

the leaves...

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Typing:

Unless otherwise stated...

"excuse me!"

(her elbows digging into my shoulders)

...all photographs are my own work.

Unless otherwise stated all wording...

"can't you take a hint?"

she shrugs

...are my own work.

"The next time you look

over my shoulder and

read my work..."

(thinks: "Keep your comments

Inside your pants...

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week-ends
week-ends
work-a-day
book-ends

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I smoke and watch her

pack.

The taxi waits.

Then I have a memory

of an earlier departure-

the scent of her

washed skin-

remembering the

ins and outs of

our arguments.

She's smiling as she

leaves the echo of

our space-

laughing as we fail

to finish yet another row.

The taxi's horn reminds us...

I pick through the remains

of her accusations:

thos...

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her arrival sends

sparkles

upward through tangles

of fibre and want

and upon arriving I

await her

unwanted departure

...maybe

she'll stay awhile

and

look to see

if she sees me

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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Her hand was young

and open,

a generosity

of spirit in its

loops and curves,

and after

'with compliments'

and her name 'Nina'

I envisaged an x

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''Konnichiwa"

A voice claims my attention

foreign and disembodied

''konnichiwa"!

I walk dripping from the shower

to the bedroom.

On the bed a fresh white towel lay folded

and upon that my 'phone.

It's her.

Two women in my room

one does the bidding

for the other

The ring-tone

female and Japanese.

I place the vibrating 'phone

upon the dresser.

Taking t...

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A woman's voice calls out.

I walk dripping from the shower

to the bedroom.

Upon my bed a fresh white towel

lay folded

and

upon that- my phone.

It's her.

The ring-tone

'Konnichiwa'

I place the vibrating 'phone upon

the dresser

take the towel from the bed

and dry myself.

I lay on fresh sheets.

She calls again.

The Japanese voice enquires agai...

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I washed her from my pillow-slips.

In a white plastic bucket

I soaked away her body's

breath,

and with bleach removed

the evidence she had left.

We snatched the time

to make our marks

with sweat

and firm commitments.

The stains on stolen sheets

proved easier to erase

than those she ground

into the fabric of my thinking

I watched as tra...

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Touch

and upon touching,

let a wanton look

dress your skin,

pressing its wants-

as in a gentle grip-

shaping my tongue,

to press tales

of soft request,

and taste the very giving

response of that same skin,

adorned and- to touch

its naked candour.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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The hour is slim!

This is the tangled time,

the time that heavy

with want becomes the jaws

for open thighs.

Her tasty flesh renders

the cleft of wet truth.

Persephone can slake,

can shatter my ache,

when, enthralled against

the serpent earth

with legs knotted,

we lay tangled in ancient ruin.

re-edit words Tommy Carroll

​

​

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"Is that all that

there is?"

All that there is- is, and that

is all that is there...

"All that is there

is there?"

All that there is there is there...

"Is that all that

there is?"

All that is there is all that there is...

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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Jan folded the letter

running a finger

along its crease.

She looked up-

somebody was explaining

functionality:

She stared

at the new argument

written on the white board

then returned to the letter-

the fold

another plane

pressing and creasing

vertices missing

corners peaking...

Sighing:

His orientation disengaged

they were now ...

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​

[In Algiers I held a glass

that held a face's stare

In the glass

the face that stared

stared back at me in fear.]

We came upon slowing traffic.

Inside the war-torn bus

standing passengers were gently rocked

We drove along an unfinished road.

unfinished roads, were you

become convinced

that each rock and pothole

were placed carefully in order

to...

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How to tell a joke

-Advice given to a Lady-

PREAMBLE- Know your audience Know your subject

PREPARATION: WRITE out your joke in full,

read it aloud many times.

REMOVE all diversions, inconsequential and trivial.

CHECK for confused references.

ENSURE you have a command

of the required terminology.

DO Laugh at other people's jokes

before attempting your own (this is call...

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In Algiers I held a glass

that held a face's stare

In the glass the face that stared

stared back at me in fear.

We came upon slowing traffic.

Inside the ancient bus

the standing passengers

were gently rocked as it edged

along the unfinished road.

We passed the sun-glassed occupants

of cars and busses

and the rolled-up sleeves of lorry drivers.

Tanned a...

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In Algiers I held a glass

that held a face's stare

In the glass the face that stared

stared back at me in fear.

We came upon slowing traffic.

Inside the ancient bus

the standing passengers were gently thrown

as it edged forward along the unfinished road.

We passed the sun-glassed occupants of cars

and busses and the rolled-up sleeves

of lorry drivers. Tanned arms...

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Let me lick your chocolate button.

Dip my finger in the melting swirl

​that claims my life

​that warms to my touch.

​Terry's was dark near black

​Sherry drooled off my

​tongue: drip drip mmm

​Oh chocolate

​chocolutum

​chocolatum

​let me suck and chew

and swallow your bitter

​reward.

​

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We all breathe another's air.

We all follow another's stare.

T Carroll words and foto

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A Paradox is a conflation of stigmata:

The absurdity of mathematics

and ones inability

to describe (in language)

what we experience.

This confusion is the point

at which motion obeys all laws.

A paradox owes more

to poetry than science.

A paradox is a conflation

of contradictory assertions.

At no time nor space,

are you able to ascertain

the point at which a ...

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Before the blood

that has time to seep;

before the shock of

sliced flesh;

of contracted muscle;

before the realization of

the truth of the pain to come;

there is a moment

when mortality is felt

most keenly-

all else derives from

its recovery.

...

words and foto: Tommy Carroll

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Folded gently like

the hidden memory

of her smile,

Her parted lips

in silence

said more than

spoken breath.

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Folded gently like

the hidden memory

of her smile,

Her parted lips

in silence

said more than

spoken breath.

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A Paradox is a conflation of stigmata: The absurdity of mathematics and our inability to describe (in language) what we experience. This . confusion is the point at which motion obeys all laws. A paradox owes more to poetry than science.

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Pass me a pencil

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