75PoWriMo - XXXVIII

you might be staring into her eyes and clutching her hands but you don't seem to have noticed that she's clearly not that into you



clear-glazed raybans
unusual piercings
immaculate scruffy-blond-hitler hair
pinstriped blazer
tatty knitwear
deep-blue implausibly skinny jeans
you probably imagine yourself
to be a delightful contradiction
but nobody loves a hipster

Stats - Day 15

poems written = 37

poems written per day = 2.4667

poems remaining = 38

required poems per day = 2.5333

75PoWriMo - XXXVII

displacement activity



i made a cat's cradle from an elastic band
but too short, stretched too taut it dug into my hands
more than string so my fingers began to turn blue
til it sprang from my hands and fell onto my shoe

75PoWriMo - XXXVI

squirrel


in some ways
isn't each of us like a squirrel
we hide things without really knowing why
we are essentially vermin only sightly cuter
we are always grateful when a stranger feeds us crisps
we can be surprisingly vicious
very few of us aren't grey



many thanks for the title suggestion go out to the lovely @likecrazypaving

75PoWriMo - XXXV

irrational hatred (part two)




trying to chop things without a big steel knife
awkwardly talking about twitter in real life
the population of the united states
these are a few of my irrational hates


the phrase "really, really" and the misuse of "literally"
the fact that i cant tell a moth from a fritillary
the way my mind dwells on my smallest mistakes
these are a few of my irrational hates

adults who don't know what the singular of dice is
the wilful disobedience of touchscreen devices
everyone's queuing but nobody waits
these are a few of my irrational hates

75PoWriMo - XXXIV

yes you



stop staring at my notebook
over my shoulder
even if you could read my scrawl
you can't read my mind
i'm not writing about you
well, clearly i am now
but i wasn't before you started
see, now you've looked away
so all you've done is reveal
yourself to be guilty
but don't think i haven't seen
the way you keep glancing back
kudos for your attempts at subtlety
but you're not fooling anyone
let's make this clear
one final time
stop staring at my notebook
over my shoulder

75PoWriMo - XXXIII

i don't do mornings



fighting back sleeop
although my eyelids beg for slumber
counting down reversing sheep
but soon reach negative numbers
my reason and my instincts torn
but i can't lie here any more
and my thirty-seventh yawn
propels me, stumbling, out the door

Stats - Day 14

poems written = 32

poems written per day = 2.2857

poems remaining = 43

required poems per day = 2.6875

75PoWriMo - XXXII

i am the future of my past




cooking celeriac fondant
and cabbage with chorizo
if you waved a magic wand and
let my childhood self know
what was in my saute pans
he would just have viewed
me as some weird old man
cooking yucky food

75PoWriMo - XXXI

we are more than all the things we are



we are all recycled fromn leftovers
we are each a by-product of a by-product
we are only an intermediate stage
we are not a raw material
we are not a finished product
we are transitory
we are physically momentary
yet we are loved

75PoWriMo - XXX

irrational hatred


the feeling of fleece and the texture of wicker
the greasy perfume of kentucky fried chicken
chicken wire affixed to wrought iron gates
these are a few of my irrational hates

people who clap on the first and the third beat
warm summer sun with its frankly absurd heat
strangers in shops who pretend that we're mates
these are a few of my irrational hates

high heels with jeans (although boots are exceptions)
checking your hair in each passing reflection
strictly come waltzing to songs in 6/8
these are a few of my irrational hates

75PoWriMo - XXIX

not quite the ghost i wish you were



i only glimpsed your face
for the briefest moment
as you bent to tie you lace
an as i - with places to go - went
rushing past the gloomy
busstop where you half hid
a shudder rattled through me
for although you weren't the kid
you were half our lives ago
and my your face had aged
i didn't doubt who you were though
but the way i felt had changed
you meant almost nothing to me
while we shared that daily hell
but now i feeling gloomy
that you reminded me how it felt
i was glad that i forgot you
when repressing that other time
and, remember me or not, you
will soon refade from my mind

Stats - Day 13

poems written = 28

poems written per day = 2.1538



poems remaining = 47

required poems per day = 2.7647

75PoWriMo - XXVIII

after



the weight of your breath
your pulse ringing in my ears
closing down the day

75PoWriMo - XXVII

singing you to sleep with nonsense



you're only grumpy cos you're tired
that's the way your circuit board was wired
and though the solder's not great it's not shorting
there really must be some method of sorting
out the difference between our views
i'm convinced that you should sleep whilst you
seem just as fixed on this new policy
of screaming til you make my eardrums bleed
and even when that crimson tide comes seeping
out of my ears you'll probably not be sleeping
and as it starts to trickle down my cheek
you'll only see it as a sign i'm weak
and probably imagine you have won
but let's be clear we've only just begun
and you will find i'm rather good at waiting
and every time i see your lungs inflating
i know you're slowly using up your powers
and i can keep this standoff up for hours
until the hawk of darkness comes a-swooping
and tugs your eyelids until they are drooping
see, even now your volume starts to fade out
and you're far less awake that you have made out
the strings that hold your head up have been slackened
the sleep thread needle's already going back and
forth stitching your brain into a tight seam
just give in - i'll see you after your dream

75PoWtriMo - XXVI

poesie



mon coeur est comme une puce
ma faiblesse est comme un perroquet
qui crierait les banalités
au sujet de mes nombreux échecs
un fois par seconde sans arrêt
et ne s'ennuie jamais
parce que
mes excuses ont le couer de fer

Stats - Day 12

poems written = 25

poems written per day = 2.0833



poems remaining = 50

required poems per day = 2.7778

75PoWriMo - XXV

on seeing soweto kinch




for all the technical equipment
the loops and the laptop and the ipad
the delay and the videos clips sent
the moments i felt i had
the most powerful connections
with the message of the music
were the sections
when he didn't use it

just three guys on a stage
symbiotically engaged
catching grooves and letting fly
licks and time went speeding by
simply drums and bass and sax
and the way they interact
saxophone and bass and drums
a toal greater than the sum
drums and horn and double bass
not a quaver out of place
and once they'd really hit their stride
just hold on and enjoy the ride

75PoWriMo - XXIV

soon


i keep telling myself
she'll be home soon
to prevent my doubting brain
conjuring the scenarios
spinning the tales
pointing out the possibilities
running me through all the ways
she might not
what would i do then?
what would i do then?
i would ...
well, i would ...
ummm


she'll be home soon

75PoWriMo - XXIII

solo



the worst guitar
solos occur
when the words run
out of ideas
and someone needs
to fill up some
time

the best guitar
solos occur
when the ideas
run out of words
and someone needs
to empty their
soul