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Common Sense

My family will say something

And within a year if that

It will be a fact

It might be that legwarmers are coming back

Or about genetic memory

Or about a U-turn in politics

 

Smoking a fag at a back door

Or some beer garden

At a christening or a funeral

Just like that

If you say something is real

Then it is

 

My family will say something

And within a few ...

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It's not easy being green.

This is an absolute joke.

Where’s the centre-half, gone for a smoke?

It’s looking like we’re gonna get beat,

I’ve kissed good bye to my clean sheet,

midges in my eyes,

dog shit on my feet-

It’s not easy being green.

 

Nose’s fucked and cheekbone too

got kicked in the face

from that little number 2

rest of the team’s got nothing to do

I’ve saved about hundred, bu...

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footballgoalie's mumthe beautiful gamethe beautiful son

Put your loving arms out baby

Her legs are like a motorway network

 

leading to know where

it’s congested

there’s been an accident

and everyone is pissed off

because it is going to take forever

to get home

how inconvenient

 

and when you get to the end

there’s a crash

and everyone slows

down

to look.

 

Please

 

stop.

Get out.

Help.

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selfharmgirlsgirlsselfharmmetoo

Trees- be these.

A Trunk holds branches

that then support the new buds

all fed by the roots

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Under The Hammer

What does tv mean?

 

Regards,

 

The Revolution

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It's you

Your sure fire

absolute certainty of journey

route, sustenance, kit,

plans, patterns, foresight,

well thought through reports,

talks on survival skills;

led an expedition into a pit.

 

Your only hope is,

whilst executing your ideas,

they kept a little something back

to save themselves.

 

They scramble for air

in hope that there are safer paths.

You sit ...

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addictionloveignorancehope

The Long Slug

Snails have a hard shell

But it’s easily broken

On a thoughtless walk

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Love from your cat

Only an arsehole would turn down good food

and incidentally- I have to put up with your dog shit slop day in day out

because it's all you can afford.

I don't even like bird, I go through that horrible murder to gift that to you

so the least you can do, when I and that innocent bird make that sacrifice for you

is to eat the damn thing,

or don't, just go back to the processed bird ...

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...but not so little boys...from my new collection MUMB

 

Shielded in a force field cacophony of Peter Griffin’s laughter and a baseline dirge

with LED’s set on level Epileptica

the giant slumbers; he does not open an eye.

Hidden amidst his landscape of tissues, Lynx and Lucozade;

this is where childhood comes to die.

 

There once was a hand held tightly to the shops,

there was once a cartoon hero and kite making,

then he was...

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childhoodteenagersdeath of childhoodmotherh

Adolencia- from my new collection MUMB

 

They are going to bend minds-

they’ve thought of all kinds of things that we have never seen,

they will sustain environments and grow fruit in arid deserts

they will go to great and unseen efforts to save the planet,

they’ll shape this world into the word FRIEND.

Starvation will end and they will study the moon

and its correlation to the womb and will study women from cradle...

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enviromenthappinessinventionlifelovenaturepeacephysicspraisescienceteenagers

Encyclopaedophile- a nursery rhyme for the under 5's from my new collection Mumb

 

Some of the following people

are genuinely nice,

but some of them aren’t really

so please think twice-

 

Entertainers, DJ’s, doctors,

aunties, uncles, teachers, carers,

hands on, help outs always therers.

 

Lawyers, politicians, volunteers,

lefties, right wing, green and liberal,

great listeners, always available,

 

good with animals, people persons,

...

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Kitchen Sink Philosophy - from my new collection about motherhood called 'Mumb'

 

Breakfast, dinner, tea-

different food, same dishes;

new water, same sink.

 

Each day, fresh treasure

Organic, homegrown, straight from

the cat litter tray.

 

You will never peel

the same potato again.

Alas, more will come.

 

The sole purpose for

anyone’s toaster’s crumb tray

is to upset them.

 

Once wine filled this glass,

fairy liquid and r...

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cat litterhaikuMotherhoodpeeling potatoesphilosophywashing up

Merle Gibson: Rose from the Dead

When Merle died it was a sorry affair.

After hating us all her life 

she wanted to be close with us in the end. 

Lol, who had always seen the good in her

brought her back to life briefly on the last day,

which had shown how much he meant to her I suppose.

 

But cats are only meant to last a certain amount of time-

less than what should be a life time,

more than some marr...

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catsgardensgriefkittenslifeloveroses.sons

Family Tree

 

You’ll find me in similes

like a leaf carried in the breeze,

in metaphors I’m climbing trees

I’m rooted in rhythm

I’ve grown a fruit nurtured

from a grieving allegory

soft scented and soothing alliteration

and free form

in case you ever visit these parts

that is where I’ll be.

 

If I get cut down in my prime

be assured I’m here in rhyme,

if you’re ever a...

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Ta Ra

Eyes and teeth Cilla;

anyone who had a heart

knows that I loved you.

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haikuCilla Black. legend

Not White To Weft (early poem for public art sculpture in Oldham)

 

 

Lay flat and spun together you’ve always run  a town,

each  part is party to the next and  grown

separately  we conflict and seethe  from

it  and sneer from it, no one is happy in  slavery

wouldn’t  talking be a step, food too  and

work  unites us, it’s not them making us  toil

we  all carry the can and  mustn’t

need  to chase our own tale to cause  blame

each  ti...

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AcrosticcottonmillOldhamracismspinning mule

 

 

 

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On a mat appears...(an early practice poem for a public art commission)

 

Sliver, slip, slub, snarl, sup-up

pins, pair, pick, put up,

inandoutinandoutinandout,

nip, nicking, necking, nosing,

nightnoisesirensnevending,

inaweinaweinawe,

nocturnal nattering ‘til noon,

get-up garble gibbering go work

 

Murmeringmutteringmouthingmilling

unclearunblockingunravelling

laying-on, let-in, long lever

endsneverendneverendnever home again up ...

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cottonElk Mill Spinning Mulemill slangmills.work

Summer Awhaikuing

Stronger in numbers;

the leaves a deaf audience

clapping spring's last bow.

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haikuseasonssign languagespringsummertrees

Glory Whole

Glory Whole

 

It's taken as red[1]

no need to be invited

no need to be said

but to clarify

I've cited.

 

 

 

[1] No matter the shirt

or colloquial song,

or that you supported

the others life long,

no good person on earth

can tell me I'm wrong-

we'd all love to see man united.

 

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Impressing my sonbeing red in all senses.

Louder Than Words

My Haiku uses

all of my left hand fingers

and two on my right.

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Maths V English

There's the numbers one to ten

and many equations then

poetically.

Literally

there is only nought to nine

and infinite stories and rhyme

of how there is only them.

 

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Vase

The flowers died

but the vase is still there

next to the faded photo

near to the mirror

above the bric a brac

close to the wine glasses

that are still there

in the cabinet

by the curtains.

 

 

 

 

 

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'Can I read this out to you?' 'Noooooooo, I've got stuff to do.'

Remember last night's tea

when you brought your girlfriend,

and you brought your friend?

And the dog was excited

because he loves it when you are all here

because I am so happy

and I'm like- superwomb?

And I got food delivered

and you were all relieved

because it can be touch and go

with my cooking                

and there was loads to go around

and Dad didn't ...

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carefamilyflawedfleeting momentsloveonly humantake-away

Getting a Ribbing

A performance of equality-

when their eyes

are reflective of me.

When their way of life

or philosophy

might be something I dreamt up once

doing a cartwheel in primary.

 

Those beautiful lads of great design?

I made them in my leisure time!

If anyone's ribs came from

anyone's ribs-

their's came from mine. 

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Equality

Fibonacci on the last school run

A spider's chandelier with Gatsbyesque enticement

indulges the mumbling aphid's lament,

red berries decorate the fringe of a melodic carousel of swallows

whilst two more riders swirl their eyes and caw.

This was just the mornings...

 

On evenings we saw raves-

black v's in tye-dye skies,

a ginger stoat did the caterpillar,

frozen ozone refracts a mobile of rainbows.

O...

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daughtersgrowing up in the countryside

Fairy Tail

 

Manchester's gay hamlet

has long since been a sanctuary

for parlor princesses to sway their tits free

from thick veined impalers who skirted the moat;

their hot swords smoking from pint piss.

 

One often forgets that

cemented with the secret elixir

 of man's love for man's folly;

it was a safe and sordid Avalon.

 

Often lulled by the music

or some other bul...

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gay villagesanctuary

Raineth

As the storm continues

So does the rust

On the BBQs

Of the just and unjust

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Lord Bowen poemrustBBQsboredom

On Task

This place can never be clean-

 

There is always one earring,

a nail, nail polish, dubbing,

red lego and blue tack

in a bowl.

 

A paintbrush is used for sky,

eye shadow,

unclogging a blender.

 

Dogs smell,

drinks stain,

love and laughter

spoils soft furnishings.

 

'Stay on task Mum',

the gentle melody

of kindly impatience

is leading me back

...

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Quoth Both

 

My daughter brought a Jackdaw in the house

And grief introduced itself

 

Melancholic and wounded

It hunched in the corner of the room

She fed him her loving eyes

Bread in tweezers

And named him Poe

 

Then this sanctuary

Took him

She phoned every night

He was mending well and with the magpies...

He was in the biggest aviary...

He was set free.

But w...

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birdschildhoodchildrendaughtersfaithGrieflossparentswings

Tipples

Drink your potion 

Followers

You swallowers of pride

Cause a rift, cause a commotion

But never let the least emotion

Get in the way of a great promotion

 2 for 1 on the latest lotion

Life is lived in blurred slow motion

With matted mouth and the smallest notion

You can't beat this 

Dote on 

Choke on

Smoke on

Token

Wallow

And float on

 

Drink your ...

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Booze

Ode to The Hairdressers

Those who go know

Some beauty is only meant to be skin deep

Hair thin

Grows out

A few days in

 

Some beauty isn't meant to last

More than six weeks

A hairdresser is a grafting fairy

Has scissor side manner

Nails glisten

Lives life

Will listen

 

Unzips eyebrows

Lets hair tell lies

Stories lent and borrowed

A bitter pupa fed

Coffee and Glad Rags ...

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The Prophet of A and E- this is a poem in my new play

Lulled and startled-

Bleeding by the babbling brook of the caged telly

Lulled and startled-

Snapped bones jar at the swish of the double doors

That shroud the curses of fun loving nurses

 

Skin as raw and cold as corn beef

Some teath broken

From biting the apple

 

This man has been picked on

Battered

And buggered

All his life

You know

He’s been squashe...

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The ProphetNHS

Gifts

On waking

From womb removal

I wrote a reem of poems

Saying goodbye to it

Thanking it

For working hard

And coming up trumps

But as the morphine wore off

On paper

I had only written one thing

And that was about the dog

That's okay

I love that dog

Love and security 

Works both ways

And the rest of the pets

Jumped on the bed

During visiting hours

A...

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If you knew all the things that would happen in your life, you would not be able to live, so it is just a good job you don't know

Everything forgiven’s forgot

Peace made way to war again

Boundaries and manners were lost

Dignity was dug into a dirge

Pride slurped from a baby cup-

Oh let’s not talk in sombre wilting

Of how a mind was skewed and tilting

The only saving grace to be

That hindsight wasn’t paid to me

As- if I’d known how you would leave

I’d never give my heart to grieve

And I’d’ve s...

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memory lossagelovedemetiatime

Goals in Perspective

When it’s going wrong

It’s him against ten

A boy can have the boots

Of a twenty year old

Can have the same boots

Since he was twelve

A young boy can only reach so far

Can only be seen to be trying

 

When it’s going good

He has nothing to do

Swinging from the bar

Excited and animated

Trumpeting breath

A young man

Awaiting a whistle of r...

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The Prime of Life

Why look for a pattern in the whole

And split the soul?

Some things just are.

 

I know when fate knocks

My socks off

I won’t ask why...

I’ll be very annoyed

But still- I’ll die,

Stop stock-still

Without a breath;

A fraction of a life,

A whole load of death.

 

Into myself and one

With the cycle of time;

I’ll become the prime.

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prime numberstheoriesno answerdeathlifemathsexistentialism

But, alas, we never do

 

After all the swallowing and fits

When I’m held hostage on a tram full of tuneless durges

With the dizzying twirl of girls pretending to be lap dancers

And red faces forcing out their final attempts at humour

Spurred on by my goading way of trying to keep out of it

And dragging me up for a conga line

I think- count yourself lucky I am not 20 anymore

Or I would ...

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Hilaire BellocMy Back PagesDorothy ParkerFlaw in PaganismDylanTarantella

Inter urinas et faeces nascimur

 

A storm crashes through the kitchen

Rectangle eyes and serious hair

Slams a note down

Swirls back to her room

‘Dad’ – smiley face

He reads it

Goes ‘Right then.’

And passes it to me

‘I can’t draw anything interesting without the lap top so I drew this.’

I fill up with the tears she has waiting

 

Not because of the knives

In her Dad’s chest

...

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