Stats - Day 18

poems written = 44

poems written per day = 2.4444

poems remaining = 31

required poems per day = 2.5833

75PoWriMo - XLIV

irrational hatred (part three)



gingham and paisley and especially houndstooth
believers that dawson's creek's dialogue's profound truth
the way i'm allowing myself to stagnate
these are a few of my irrational hates

not being warned about triggers or spoilers
overproduction that makes music joyless
the volume of food diners leave on their plates
these are a few of my irrational hates

assumed social skills i have still yet to master
playing a fender, especially a stratocaster
mediocre or worse things that everyone rates
these are a few of my irrational hates

Stats - Day 17

poems written = 43

poems written per day = 2.5294

poems remaining = 32

required poems per day = 2.4615

75PoWriMo - XLIII

peardrops



pungent, sweet
and esoteric
distinctive
aroma of stoops,
park benches
and the top deck of
75
buses late on spring
afternoons



for @RachSmith82 who enjoys in-jokes

Stats - Day 16

poems written = 41

poems written per day = 2.5625

poems remaining = 34

required poems per day = 2.4286

not only have i stumbled past the half-written mark, i have somehow managed to end up ever-so-slightly ahead of schedule

75PoWriMo - XLI

meta-quickie



a quick one
can be satisfactory
but always suspect
you've been a disappointment
(more than usual)

75PoWriMo - XL

i might be slightly high on the fumes of cleaning products



when
even for a moment
you're convinced
that you see your own breath
pouring forth in dayglo streams
like the tiny rainbows on pavement oilslicks
dancing round the kitchen as it diffuses
it may be time
for some fresh air

75PoWriMo - XXXIX

my four step plan



i used to have a plan
a four step plan
i wrote it down
on every surface
i could find
inscribed on almost
everything i owned
set out thusly:
     i)   form a band
     ii)  learn a chord
     iii) write a song
     iv)  change the world
i even wrote a song
to which these steps
repeated mantra-like
formed the chorus
i believed in the plan
the plan was clear
and clearly right
it set out my path
defined my direction
and was my justification
for every one of my
questionable choices

steps one to three
are deceptive
appearing as they do
to be so straightforward
but i was never able
to perform them
to the prerequisite standard
to make the fourth possible

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