Unmanned

These jacks in dinner jackets let us
Shuffle the pack and were elected.
Unmanned suits, burbling slime-
‘Vital action’ in the Middle East,
Central Africa; defence systems;
Shared interests, projects, history, future-
Who do they represent? Not me.
Not my children, not our children
(If we want them to have a future)
I don’t know when they set the tone,
But its become an oppressive drone,
Something born out of selfishness
And greed that’s now a need
And we’re fed and led by drones;
Unmanned, mutual suits telling us more
About war, selling us the same old
Solution for how to create more
Problems for the world, how to increase the
Tolerance, the resistance levels of the rich
And the energy required from us all
To bear their world when we should be making sense of the world;
As if we’re getting nearer. To me it feels like every day
We’re all just getting further away.

Supply Teacher

I’m supply but where’s the demand?
I’m standing here in front of a tough crowd
Almost David Brent with my guitar,
An old contender; an opportunist star, dieing,
Killing time. It feels perverse, a form of atonement;
Once I was right there, forward facing, trapped
Like tangled shoots in a classroom cloche.
I don’t agree with the expectations they’re under,
I don’t recognise the dimensions of the future
Pinned by politicians on frames of rough timber.
I remember the herd, gazing out; an overheard education, mine
But I could hear myself think, unlike now. I’m here to make
Precious children, who hardly read, write or listen
Benefit from something, the benefit of making
Knowledge fit, in place, in mind. Teachers do the chewing,
Break down fibrous knowledge and regurgitate
Appetisers on sparkly plates, blend everything
To try to make their brains, their lives appealing.
These kids don’t have to think, they don’t have to taste;
Their hyperactive needs are catered for by school and society,
A world that fends off the bully of boredom for them.
They hardly touch life or discover any wisdom within it.
Meanwhile, shatterproof teachers bend over backwards,
Hold ground, try not to give an inch to kids used to taking a mile.
*
I’m hosting somebody else’s party;
My guests are in every room. With
Their shoes on, they’re up and down
Stairs and behind doors, in drawers,
Hiding and grouping and hollering;
Helping themselves to this chance for fun.
They’ve got the run of the place,
They love the thrill of the chase
And I’m stuck on the bottom steps of a staircase,
With scampering feet and minds all around.
They’ve got nothing against me,
The party food, the drink dispensed for free;
They’re just not thirsty and when they sense
They can they get a way with it, when they see
No assurances, feel unlocked and unlock momentum,
Release idiocy, invade territory, occupy vacancy;
Well I might as well disappear back home
And leave the key on the table.

Eminess

I’ve created a gentleman, and I need
Me some formal attire, casual threads too
For when I’m taking in a real fire
In the Yorkshire Dales and that,
Like Take That all boyish and clean
Yes on that real fire, can I get a relight?
Tweed: that’s what I need, and a stripy
Jumper for when I’m in eating sushi
With me crew. She’ll see me then
Maybe that classy bird in her knickers
Going to parties and walking round trees
Me and her we could get a dine in for 2
Coz this ain’t just any old crap song
This is eminess’s new crap (mercifully
Short rather than long) song, yes
This ain’t just any old crap song
This is eminess dressed to instill
Neutral reactions in any one of you
Mothers, and grandmothers too
Looking for the right stuff and that
Can’t be wrong, bras and pants
A celebratory thong and you all know
The deal; dressing gowns and modest heels
This ain’t just any old crap songbr />This is eminess’s old crap song.

Rainbow

There is a clash of equals dispersing
Today, of elements of light and rain;
And the backdrop is dropping, spreading,
We feel the effects; get sun, get wet,
Pick up the tab of an atmosphere shedding debt.
The sky is on our backs, in our
Faces. Where is that pure blue space?
Where is that joy of freedom? Short lived..
And when the sky is at odds and so even,
Bridges emerge there that are nothing less
Than art. They stretch and connect up above
The trees and houses, arching arms, bands;
Eternal, exact tubes of colour and its range
Revealed and sealed within the blur of change.

Cured

This is camping. This is cooking
On Gaz; the blue flame of the moment.
With a burner, a kettle, a corner to crash
In for comfort, bags to lean on;
Gutted possessions. I have stuff to deal with.
I am in the air of a porous cell;
In a pocket, locked in honeycomb-
I shot my load of expandable foam
And its caught me, cured me, crept around me
And set rapidly, trapping me; scratching-I woz ere-
I can hardly keep ahead anymore; I keep
A heart and live in its hollow; follow its law.

Same World

I can see and feel the same world you see,
I am prepared now
To recognise your reflection. I can bear you,
If you can bear me. This world is not an orb
Or an object, it is just sight and subject, us two
Connected; where I want to stay; in the same world,
To serve this kingdom, to keep your face my keystone
And the welcome curve of you, your mouth and your body:
My horizon. I am joined to the same points of you, uprooted
From the indifferent, insane, inhumane world
Beneath our feet. The same world now; the same heart beat.
I want to stay away from the same old world;
It’s a short life. Long live the same world.

Punctured Lung

I’ve got a flat, gripped by ribs, that’s a
Nearside of constricting pain. I’m running
On a rim, my voice a whimper, it doesn’t carry
Due to a leaking inner tube that needs a patch,
To repair to trap and swell air again.

Crawling Baby

Surge

OHP

Here on Britain’s bold shoulders,
On steep land, huddled high on heights, on humps,
Carried over bulging expanses, up to and on to
Buildings, bridges, trees, goes a Luddite
With an over head projector, a star staring
Through his acetate offerings with a glazing
Look, blissfully attentive, blank but in the zone
In god’s own, being linked to life beyond the swelling
Head of the swirling town, this plentiful
Emptiness and sunshine revealing planetary details;
A precious span of light between shortages.