Don’t get me wrong, I’d love nothing more
than to commune with Mother Nature.
But what can I do? It’s out of my hands:
Nigeria are playing Croatia.
What’s that? Another meal on your own?
You’re quite right, there is nothing bleaker.
But this is the big one. I’ve waited all day.
Switzerland – Costa Rica.
Sorry I shall miss your mum’s funeral
but I should be there in time for the wake.
Do understand, it’s Morocco – Iran
and for both teams there’s so much at stake.
I see that you’ve filed for divorce.
I’ll sign the papers as soon as I can,
just ten minutes more (plus time added on)
of Colombia versus Japan.
relationships
supermarket
Assorted Poems, Some poemsin the supermarket of her love life,
she rummaged in the rubble of reduced items,
looking for something edible,
if perhaps not entirely credible
later,
in the bagging area of her bed,
she found the unexpected item of Fred
onion
Assorted Poems, Some poemswhen Jane described Clarence
as being like an onion,
he was thrilled to think
she saw him as multi-layered,
with such a lot going on
beneath the surface that
only after much peeling
would the revealing
of the real Clarence
become apparent
and so, later,
he was disappointed
to hear that she was referring
to his purple-red, papery skin
and the fact
that he would
occasionally emit
a volatile gas
that would bring tears
to her eyes
Toby
Assorted Poems, Some poemsSoon it would soon be January again.
She simply did not know
where the year had gone.
Eventually she found it
hidden away
in a shoebox,
under the bed,
along with 1997
and 2005.
Toby.
He had taken the best years of her life.
failure
Assorted Poems, Some poemsfive years passed
before Denise
admitted to herself
that they were never
going to get it together
yes, they were close
but it was like there was
something missing
and although they
worked on it together,
talked things through,
looked at it from all angles,
tried new things out
(this way and that),
it never seemed
quite right
why Mike should think
that flat-pack assembly
was such a good idea,
Denise would never know
Little Poems
Assorted Poems, Some poemsShe would write
little poems for me,
and scatter them
around the house,
like unexpected confetti.
Elliptically cryptic
in construction,
these notes of seduction
defied further
deduction.
2 tins toms, read one,
Cuc x 3, caulie, bread rolls.
Dead Sea Scrolls
would be decidedly
more easily
deciphered.
I came to adore
these lettres d’amour,
and would secretly clamour
for their post-it-note
glamour.
Boiler on blink. Phone man.
said another.
Dinner in dog
whilst perhaps
not the prettiest
was one of her
pithiest.
Prosaically profound,
part-Ayres, part-Pound,
her poems
would confound.
I hate you
And I hate your stupid face.
I am leaving you.
was the pinnacle,
so crisp
and so clinical.
Such a shame
she disappeared
shortly after that.
Brian Bilston 