1

we meet for coffee on wednesdays
and discuss his problems with ts elliott
his legs are thin and he does want to eat peaches
but more than that he cannot find the energy
to switch from long stanzas
to short

I'm tired of writing about myself
he says without quotation marks

clearly we have a barista
a law school drop out
for our coffee is patterned in honour
of something or another
of which we have no knowledge
and do not care

he stabs the design with his spoon
and unquotably sighs

for the clean air act
that deprives him of yellow fog
and the english degree of a certain age
that stops him writing rythmicaly
in long sweeping sentences that break out of the implied concrete structure
and then short ones

it's the bloody full stops he continues
if I leave them in they get in the way
and if I take them out I want to put them back in

and all this bloody spring everywhere
bloody daffodils I paint them red
and then shiela says that I am stealing her coffee spoons
that's her trick you see
blood everywhere
why she can't enjoy the relief of the menopause
oh don't quote me

we sip coffee and watch the world pass
wishing a black and white photographer
could catch us atmospherically not smoking

I'm just pleased he has dropped the silver cane
and the caution

.....

2

I am a little alarmed by the two shots of hazelnut syrup
he has a jaunty spring today

'how's elliott' I ask, lifting chocolate powder
from the froth of my cappuccino
with the back of my spoon
alls well with elliott I hear
and with shiela
he points and states that the world is as sunny
as the day is overcast
pleased with the double negative
  he sucks sugared coffee from the biscotti
  testing his denture against the hardness

  no
elliott is great he adds
he has no issue with elliott
peachy

  no
yes
  no

  what do I think of americans
  and more specifically strumbert and weiss
nine peacocks fly past burtons
  the grammarians
fifteen peacocks float on silk cushions
   you know who I mean
one lone butterfly scimitars an ant by the drain
the language police which dislike star trek and passivity
I refuse to name them
don't give them house room
coldly grate them

'have you tried just writing'

but the english degree of a certain age has him by the throat

muffled in is black woolen coat
with his red brick scarf
I watch his eyes whirl with syrup
and maybe a touch of shiela

....

3

it seems shiela has really gone and done it this time
not only has she decided that sex is the best thing since sliced onions
he laughs at this reference to shakespeare
and produces a hand written draft
he has written in response to something or another
in this or that
literary magazine

'response is never useful' I casually observe
sipping a raspberry milkshake with a hint of coffee
among the ice

oh know I am wrong
and we get it both barrels
with all the smoothness of imitated early elliott

as he reads a bus drools by time drips people do what people do
pass unobserved on the most part
certainly in art
unless it is a low budget film
when the same faces circling a window
draws attention to the hair lip
or the third extra in search of stardom

what do you think he asks
  is it not ts elliott
does it not stand alongside the literary greats
  will it be banned
I do so hope so

blood drips from the toes of the elegant woman at the next table
her shoes are perfect for her style
she leans over and thanks him for reading
'poets must bleed or their words mean nothing' she says
dangling her shoe
adding to the puddle on the floor

they exchange cards
in the style of kindred spirits
with an english degree of a certain age

while he is not looking
  I take his poem
   and eat it

his reputation must be protected

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