In The Poetry

White Vase

Two figures on a sofa, side by side,
The stench of bitter almonds, smoke and sweat;
A man who ate no meat lies with his bride.

Fresh tulips and narcissi cast aside,
A white vase tipped; a chiffon dress splashed wet.
Two figures on a sofa, side by side.

The room is hushed, its spell defies the tide
Of history – [...]

White Vase

Two figures on a sofa, side by side,
The stench of bitter almonds, smoke and sweat;
A man who ate no meat lies with his bride.

Fresh tulips and narcissi cast aside,
A white vase tipped; a chiffon dress splashed wet.
Two figures on a sofa, side by side.

The room is hushed, its spell defies the tide
Of history – [...]

Lone Wolf

Loping down a muddy track -
Rabid – toothless – fled the pack -
Vegan wolf – no appetite -
Lost the bark – mislaid the bite.

Outcast – loopy – pelt gone grey -
Loner – turncoat – hunts no prey -
Scavenger – laps verse for blood -
Drowning in an autumn flood.

Lone Wolf

Loping down a muddy track -
Rabid – toothless – fled the pack -
Vegan wolf – no appetite -
Lost the bark – mislaid the bite.

Outcast – loopy – pelt gone grey -
Loner – turncoat – hunts no prey -
Scavenger – laps verse for blood -
Drowning in an autumn flood.

‘This is the Server…’

I

This is the Server, waiting on station,
Silicone god of an e-mail nation,

Bearing you news of a baby boy,
Bringing you misery, bringing you joy -

Telling you auntie has taken to pottery,
Gloating your ex has won the lottery,

Jottings ethereal, letters venereal,
Packets attaching the oddest material,

Bleating that Katie has married a fool,
Reminding you “Man’ United [...]

Why Did the Jews Kill Jesus, Dad?

Why did the Jews kill Jesus?
‘Cos Jesus was a Jew!
A trouble-making rebel,
And stroppy with it too.

He argued with his betters
An’ ‘ung about with yobs,
Chastisin’ money-lenders
An’ lecturin’ the nobs.

They didn’t take that kindly,
No more they would today,
They fitted him up proper, son,
An’ chucked [...]

‘This is the Server…’

I

This is the Server, waiting on station,
Silicone god of an e-mail nation,

Bearing you news of a baby boy,
Bringing you misery, bringing you joy -

Telling you auntie has taken to pottery,
Gloating your ex has won the lottery,

Jottings ethereal, letters venereal,
Packets attaching the oddest material,

Bleating that Katie has married a fool,
Reminding you “Man’ United [...]

Passing a School Playground

The imps are with the angels
Behind the netted wall;
The squeals of pigtailed lassies
The thump of boot on ball.

A bookworm in a corner,
The bully on his round,
Miss Showoff in her trainers
That cost a hundred pound.

A murderer’s among them,
A few who’ll make it rich,
Here’s fame and shame in training,
But God knows which is which.

Hacker-boy, Hacker-boy
(To the tune of Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?)

Hacker-boy, hacker-boy, where have you been?
I sat in my bedroom and stared at a screen.
Hacker-boy, hacker-boy, what did you see?
I built a new virus upon my PC.

Hacker-boy, hacker-boy, where is it now?
It is shutting the lights off in Rome [...]

On News of a Friend’s Sudden Death
[for A-M. K. 1956-2001]

How thin the cloth, how fine the thread
That cloaks the living from the dead;
How narrowly, from breath to breath,
We plait our rendezvous with death.

How swift the tenant flees the gate;
The landlord’s writ, come soon or late,
Foreclosing slum or stately hall,
Hard bailiffs at His beck and call.

How [...]