Life : Units of Happiness

“I drink much less than most people think, and I think much more than most people would believe.” ― Hunter ” I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.” ― Winston A drop of malt to anesthetize the day A drop of malt to hush the voice that rings…

Life : A Dropped Jar

Shard of glass slips into my pawKnife through butter with no such defined exitThe pain of penetration, then the ghost of the sharp pastShuffling Jesus me , stigmata for the sins of the kitchenTime heals all till it doesn’t. 

Life : Gone to the Dogs

When the time comes to feedwe howlwe barkand we wail to the ancestors,Ruby and meWhere the wild things are?Well they are right here ,Wearing wolf suits without fear ,Ruby and meWeasels in the wild woodWe are what we are,A nightmare to the choreographed recycling bin dream ,Ruby and meMan and dog shuffling under footbeside a…

Life : Community Rage

My dog is gone , has anyone seen him out loose on the run? And I love my grandson, I need a lawyer  to take action against his mum And The flowers on East Street really are so very very lovely And The United Nations are coming , I need ammunition and water And This…

Life : Four Poems That Aren’t

Some of my favourite poems are songs. In this I suspect I am not alone. The dividing line between lyricism and poetry is always fuzzy and subject to sectarian doctrinal world views. I have seen it written that the difference comes down to poems having an unstated or cryptic dimension while lyrics spell things out….

life : April Pie

Potato, mince and pastry on a berm in a storm. One cheek bears the brunt, the other glows in the lee. The absence of cold feels tropical, the sheltered half is drunk on it’s privilege. Heat from the warmer cabinet, passed down the generations, finally it gets to me. From the pit of my stomach,…

Life : For My Brother

A life time ago and I lie in bed , your body entwined in mine , hours old, the grey glowering sky outside just highlights the warmth in here, such a precious delicate bundle , such new horizons, the promise of everything, more intimate than I could imagine , nothing since has compared, and I…

Life : And Another Night Passes

Walking along the edge of the rain , my nose is dry and my ankles are wet. The dog charges forward , her jaw is set to a grin, her eyes scream Geronimo ! At my back The Southern Alps and Antarctica send their icy kisses north. Redolent splotches drip from spiraling grey gods ,…

Life : On the Poetry of the Divine

I suppose when talking about the end god has to come into it, or the gods , as I like to put it as I don’t want to give the monotheists a monopoly on the language. I come from a household where my father was atheist and my mother was , is, non-practicing . My…