Rough men rough hands and tongue
rough for the purpose
a job to do and a will to do it
when the shovel swings
a tune is played
rhythm of muscles and motion
Good men
good to dig a ditch with
shovel and gravel and pipe and tamp
down in the hole
the cribber's dared
hardpan or silt
wet ditch and dry
they're the boys to work with
When a job's to be done
and every last son-
of-a-bitch must be working
they're the boys to work with
mcmlxiii, rev. mmvii
Hard of voice and gut
the yellow hat
tough as it takes
when the gauntlet's thrown
he'll brag
the yellow hat
a match for any boast
is it the pipe to lay
fighting the mud
cribbing the cave-away -
no-one else would
watch him at work
pushin the crew
first by example
less'll not do
when the going gets tough
and the boys cry enough
there's one never quits
it's
the yellow hat
mcmlxiii
(Inspired by the translation of two poems engraved on antique jade plaques, in the collection of Goretti Lee Roberts.)
What delight
taking tea
in the bower
by the banana plant
bamboo and fir tree
rustling in rhythm
with the pitter-patter
of the rain
the bright moon above
~~~~~~~~
These fine sensible souls
contentedly resting
where flowers prosper
after strenuous day's walk
heartfelt pleasure
upon sight of full moon
presiding over mountains and lakes
mmvii
Two faithful wives
or perhaps wise women
the art of theatre
drawn as if from the life
japanese ladies choosing flowers
for the elaboration of their simple bowers
an exemplary scene
reminds me of our happy excursions
and the wayside companions we apprize
with many a will-we or shall-we
as an excuse for dilly-dallying
you and me, lass
no nonsense between us
though much that is nonsensical, nevertheless
led up and down the garden path
by the wonders under our noses
agreeable disposed to each other
and what most distracts to take note of:
winged and leggèd creatures
rocks and rockbound
plants and trees in the season
and clouds chimerical
as soon assembled as let go
just-so happiness
is sustained thereby
for permanence exists in the ephemeral
and our fondness – call it how you will
the disposition and the pursuit thereof
being in the present tense persists
letting the clock go about its business unobserved
hands that practice due diligence
till we decide the tense is perfect
and call a stay for tea
i love our humble silly-sallying
and a common delight in the commonplace
a regard most rare
shared perhaps by these two wise women
or faithful wives
which shall be my image
that i bend to pick as a whimsical posy
a tribute in your honour
at this Winter Solstice
year two thousand and three
mmiii
Bllissful bed where luxury lies
in thrallèd virtue of your eyes
rebellion lurks at issue whence
you return gentled virtue out of violence
and undo hair restrained from flair
so to observe and drawn thither behold
bold shyness hidden invitation's trust
in reticence turns and lightning thrust
as breast to breast prudence is cast
perforce aside and also pride
loss becomes least and more glory beside
fond versus vain all else at rest
perquisite's gain engaged stands fast
and so proclaims love's gleeful heart
at your invitation tussle is won
betousled and fragrant to awake as one
mmvii
Obedient as the letter of the law
i arise
consult the skies
for prophecies and predilections
now it's my turn to shine
let the sun do what it will
am i a stickler
or a traveller who's gone too far
over the hill?
mm
Rotund and exhuberant vessel!
vase or bowl you may be
too small for either
meant perhaps to be fondled
though physical integrity suspect
still cleaving despite the cleavage
and made more precious thereby
here you are boldly declaring
I! instance of the matter that matters
vibrant opposites consonantly engaged
in twain identity attracting and embracing
proving that from difference
springs difference anew
an occasion for festive jubilation
for such is love
which submits not to degree
and sensible of intensity
comes by degrees
into the province of impulsive embrace
still cleaving despite cleavage
no doubt an exhuberant vessel
meant to be fondled
made more precious thereby
mmv
Dearest unreachable miss, i do not amend my worldly lust
nor tread the path of prudence for your sake
to bear your silent scoldings with despair
that ears now deaf to hope's address would me mistake
You feign indifference whether i may come or go
yet tempt me more, though i can never bind
your flesh to mine by sound or touch or sight
as living mistresses the feast, not goal i'd find
No, i forswear both kisses loose and fond
the grave lies deep in eyes that seek that bond
mcmlxii (rev. mmi)
Say . . . joss!
let's give the rules a holiday! from you
who take the cake
like a faith in the exhuberance of living
simply for enjoyment's sake
to me who peck at the crumbs
grudgingly
as if committing a sinful act of pleasure
tell me when are the tables turned
you know: the unmerry-go-round mad hatterwise
picking up someone else's empty cup
with apologies
to dodge the questioning
let's pretend we're the guests
call the waitress
we'll set out the goodies on our sensual table
the limit's our ability to pay in laughter
we'll pile sensation to the skies
forgetting all about the cost
until we've had a bellyful of what we're after!
the moral's clear move over gal!
as long as imperfection rules the roost
the gamest cocks get to crow . . . let's go!
mcmlxiii, rev. mmvii
Ants in nest
encounter tampering hand
due either to mischief or curiosity
display diligence and fortitude
in repairing adversity
whereas we human creatures
provoked by hand of fate
deplore plead beg lament
question why of misfortune
feelings put out of joint
ant also subject to suffering
dares no idle claim to compassion
earns mercy of labour's reward
resumption of gainful endeavour
by no fault of its own undone
mmvi
Disconsolate child hugs doll
surrogate image of comfort
to which we, too, turn
in our adversity
mmv
... See poetry. she lies
as all gray –powdered predications
lie, like periwigs on empty heads.
Be nice. Discard the lice.
Beribboned as a beauty fair
Cherry-heart has drunk the ripeness of her eyes.
mlxx
Last Words and Testament of Reverend Divine Doctrinaire Bideen
Late of Persia and this World
On Consideration of a Dear Friend and Filosofusser, Tich Backhouse
If you, dear Reader, will kindly vacate the idle rocking-chair on your sun-warmed porch and turn to the Byrne Abbey slopes, looking south down towards the Byrne's Bog and the Big Bend where our famous salmon-navigating river fattens on the tide of the salt sea, you will notice a tall red brick chimbley, our own recycling plant, where this township's refuse is burnt and committed to the ether and thrown in smoky spirals by arbitrary winds back whence it came to descend as smut on the streets and fields of our domicile.
Next to the chimbly stands another recycling plant, the Institute for Incorrigible Women; that is, those who are deemed in need of correction but are beyond a husband's balmy influence; and over to the east by the spurline railway tracks, the Honey Haven Ranch, adjunct of Byrne Abbey Hospice and Sanatorium, residence and workplace for crackpots and senile miscreants whose principal offense is that they suffer from mental disability. Of which, i, your servant, Tich Backhouse, is one. We are detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure, which is not returned. Yus, we iz halfway round the Big Bend, but don't let that put you off.
The Rev. Divine Doctre Bideen and i had fallen in with each other at the ranch during several past incarcerations. And a wondrous man to his friends he was. I liked him on the spot. He was one of that rare ilk, the ilk of human kindness, and his crime – if crime it may be – was absent-mindedness: he lent and borrowed money as if it were cheap scrip – which it were to him – forgetting whose wallet it belonged in and he was invariably seized for non-payment of bills. So they put him in a position where he could not earn any money to pay it back. That's governmint fer you!
I wouldn't listen to a critical word about the good doctre, unless it were that his mind were too large fer the brain of a mortal man. His attention was fixed on no temporal horizon and he arranged his curious vocabulary of abstractions in capital letters, thinking words needed no grinding on the philosopher's stone if they were heartfelt.
He got his degrees in Metaphysix 'n Theology at Ispahan University in Persia, and he was a Haji by right, which means he executed the duty of every true Muslim believer and went afoot on a pilgrimage to Mecca. So you can cast no aspersians, ha ha!
How he got to Byrne Abbey, i dunno. 'Twasn't any hankerin' fer the Sisters of Mercy, which is our institutions present mentors, besides he were celibate and never gazed at a woman above their buttoned shanks. He had been a Sufi among the Turks and perhaps they drove him out. And he were at Tiblis or Tiflis when the original Doukobours negotiated a passage West. So he may have come with them. I wisht he talked more about actual people 'n' places an' less about bloodless ideas. But there's a confirmed philosofusser for y': that were hiz bent an' bless him for it! I've copied some of his animadversions – "pipedreamz", az i called them – while we were occupying up 'n' down berths at the funny farm. I shall miss him, an' Honey Haven will never agin be my second home.
Tich
I know it's Fall
cos my knees are cold
They'll get used to it
as i will
this reformed Thyrsus of mine
but warmer dressed
A storm in a huff
precipitates hailstones
drumming its heels on the roof
so i look out, startled
and a zealous wind
fall's janitor
is thrashing the cedars and cherries
until they writhe
. . . leaving behind
this seamless layer of cloud
like the underside of a massive broadloom
barefaced as a tart at a wake
"Stay in!" you counsel
"It will clear later"
But this is the seasonal cusp
when dozing waterfowl
open the other eye
and recall timely invitations
to greet the sun elsewhere
Probability is
it won't let up tomorrow
Dash it! Mustn't get broody
turn on the heater
choose an easy chair and book:
that mystery set in sultry Baetica
switch to a brighter station
rummaging as thought will
to a destination
A poem, celebrating
the shorter rotation of the sun
after the Equinox:
O Fall, Thou Fell Antagonist
and Usurper
Who dids't Maternal Summer
swipe with barbarous hand
Anent Thine own o'erhasty accession ...
Sorry, can't continue. I feel old
Maundering!
I see my own countenance
in Summer's decline
and Fall's succession
A matching parody
Can't get broody
A cup of tangy Ceylon tea
my compatible chair
the book and Thou, my Dearest
always in my thoughts
Oh, Fall, welcome!
But wipe Thy nose!
Unruly gusts, white-rimed frosts
and scouring rains
you summon;
and if your temper suits
that peerless antithesis:
Indian Summer
Lucky i am to salute Thee
in my seventy-first year
mcmxcvii
Regal virtue stands now irresolute
won't by itself bestir
as if chained like Prometheus to adamantine rock
conscience gnawing with cruel maw
outraged liver
mmvi
Fib
on
acci
dent, eh?
no chance
I got his number
he’s anathematical
Fib
on
archy
regardless!
numbers measure off
just like syllables in poems
mmvii
Falling leaves don't grieve
they sigh: 'Goodbye
till weather is warm;
give our regards
to snow, cold, gale and storm!'
mmvi
Across the harbour
lights of downtown city
blinking
into tardy sleep
i, at my window
seat for contemplation
by fantasy of beckoning pen
reach out to you
a restless mood
in fellow-feeling
with those transient rays
bright wands
that play in squiggles on the water
so you, my dear, are present in my head
held luminous or else
by turns extinguished
go to bed…? no, i linger
chastened and sombre
whilst wavery beams
leap from the darkened waterfront
to show
how naked under this evening sky
my hopes can fly
or fall
both high and low
mcmlxiv
The time has run on both our lives
has run on sweet
has run on tart
and sweet somehow survives
has run on god knows how
and sweet survives
has run on god knows how
together and apart
and sweet survives
mcmxcix
As i squint through my sadness
eyes of sorriest unrest
disquieted by the split between
me and my compeers
sequel to deficit of views
feeling used-up and squeezed-out by society
though not so blessedly bereft of grief
as the village idiot exorcised beyond belief
nor as nonchalant as a solitary bee
found cold and unangry on a dying goldenrod in September
gutwise i’m hung-up –- with belly fodder no luck
lush in the bush letting off steam
god’s grace as inefficacious as demon rum
in redeeming loss of face: seeing self eye to inner eye
while saints sing hosannah
church choirs serenade apple-pie order in the sky
as if metermaids and one-way streets
honking drivers speed traps cops on their beats
were headtrips extensions of the ego
Nah i’ll recover my composure
by-and-by without closure
we grow through not out of
as trees askew attest
oh Susannah don’t you cry calls out your best
we’ll bear up serenely never meanly
hardship promises unjoyful occasion to think things over
like crabgrass and clover we’ll learn to thrive
in the alley where neglect and abuse aint discreet
better that than put up a front like a garden lawn
obliged to the street
mcmlxxii
To remind you when beauty
lies dead in the grass
her cheer we can cherish
now she is done
for alas with the season
whose pleasures have flown
our eyes tracking backwards
we find beauty less
But off with such sorrow
for seasons will turn
and pleasures renewed
though breast sorely torn
feels dolour at hand
with sun sinking low
we must gather the shadows
and lay them to rest
Distress is not gain
the sun’s running on
and bears us all forward
despite pain and grief
hope is a promise
that’s best left to time
while beauty’s reborn
in the rime and the mist
mmiv
Jade beast
your mythic power still lives
avatar of human aspirations
shape of incongruous origins made compatible
animal qualities by kindred to ours
singularity most harmonious
kilin reputed for your gentleness
monstrous artefact of ancient lore and craft
we owe you awe and reverence
proof of provenance scant
you are your own authority
recognized by whom you would be seen
charismatic aura under cloak of anonymity
"found under bed"! so i am told
by what freak of providential coincidence
revealed to present-day consciousness
hidden after long sojourn
buried in earth
leaping over manifold generations
white apparition indicative of great age
guardian called to defend against wilful chaos
when worldy events run amok
human pride and greed resulting in discord
which carry misfortune to innocent life
huge jaws open in challenge
massive haunches crouched in still momentum
epitome of grace and strength
body-language in any tongue
may you stand thus on our behalf
as we remain loyal to your purpose
bequeathing to futurity
benevolence serenity and precious gift of friendship
Most piteous
your plight
soulful heifer
in Heaven
to rise again
your downfall
our delight
mmvii
This gnome, this charming horror,
That sits Apollo-like upon my lusty soul;
Call him Conscience,
Wryly grinning,
Mirthful as a martinet
In parody of joy,
He slits the envelope and stirs between
A foil to mind and spirit,
Still lustful, lascivious, gross, unkind,
But never lost in dirt or callous suffering;
For give this gruesome little wart of sin his due
The college-taught proprieties were born of him
And tie-clad stalwarts know his school;
Refinement, bred of ease, has coached his whim.
mcmlx
The two of us
beside the fire
we three
understand
such a great talker
this fire
spitting and hissing
like a skidroad whore
you and i
sitting by the fire
desire burning lower
and the ashes
hiss in displeasure
as we throw on the water
to kill them dead
and joy-in-waning
fellowship
sends us to bed
mcmlxx
The mind may go beyond the
petty animosities
the grievances
to sit akimbo on the rim of a rainbow
that arcs unavoidably
through the sunlit self
to the centre-not-a-centre
where no untoward cloud may dally
to bar or sully
the light of immanent sight
footdangling pleasure like a squirrel's treasure-
trove of nuts he has stored for the winter season
or a pot of gold to be dug after the sun has set
not before
mcmlxxv
Bonne chance, my dear!
Secretive and silent as a fox
without the fanfare or the view-hallo
as quiet as the mortar on the wall
that sets the mood and tenour
of our etiquette in love
you scaled the bastion
smuggled out the key
and brought my stronghold crashing to the ground
As fortified a den you found
as ever robber-baron ruled
Now captive in the conqueror's pound
i wait to hear my punishment:
to ransom, hurt, enslave or free
declare your next intent
You chose the strategy
and fought a winning cause
to lose was my desert
now honour yours!
mcmlx
A fib is a fib
a lie on the fly
like the cut of your jib
with faltering wind
you sail before
no care for where off
lies the leeshore
mmvii
Bowlful of leaves
Autumn brought to its knees
Winter sighs: Alas
I too. Seasons pass!
mmv
Fall colours in profusion
likenesses and contrasts
this commodious commotion
blessèd mosaic to kindly eye
so merry and sore circumstance
belong rightly or wrongly together:
shrewd heads nod agreement
to fear future and dismiss past
seems eminently daft
what's been and gone and what's to come
may like our pastiche of leaves and flowers
amend their differences
and vouch assuredly
that we have been and have done
what matters most to us: lived truly
despite our present confoundation
mmvi
My sister antigone
she is alas long gone
a broken knee and gangrene
sent her to kingdom come
sent her to kingdom come
amen amen well done
dear sempiternal sibling she
in agony passed on
amen amen sad tears shed he
recalling who she was
dear sister worn by duty
thought chores a worthwhile cause
she chased a cow it fell
she did into a ditch
on top of her pellmell
my sister underneath oh hell!
the cow the bitch – if cow can be
fell headlong toppled down
a mucky ditch with my antigone
sent her thus hobbling home
so now at night i cry outright
antigone long gone!
a broken knee and gangrene –
it cuts me to the bone!
on darksome eves when twilight fades
in shades of pitch and tar
a figure flits from path to ditch
it is my sister – ah!
antigone antigone anent god’s bane
you’ve left me sore bereft
until the cows come home i mean
the milking’s never done!
mcmlxxxviii
To all Laurie's faithful readers; this is the amanuensis. (Nice, old-fashioned word; I like it.)
Sorry for the lag in posting. We have a new project on the table, and will be adding a weekly installment of fiction - the chronicles of Tich Backhouse.
Tich lives in Byrne Abbey, an alternate universe sister city to Burnaby, British Columbia, in a time sometime between (and crossing over) the early 1900s to the present. He deems "hissel'" a "filosofusser", and is all too likely to be in conflict with whatever authorities attempt to civilize him.
'nuff said; you'll see what I mean. Soon.
From fretful birth
to fretful dearth of years
as yesterday damns tomorrow
with its claims
infant joie de vivre
burns dimmer
tempestuous youth in despite confronts
middle old age
despised and later tolerated
whereupon would to the contrary
delay in vanity
nunc dimitis
and borrow access to what is denied
future untold
rather than boldly stand up and deliver
divorce from self
mmvi
Mutability my theme
nay, neither moot nor mute
I must say my say
do my damned worst or bestingest
every grunt and groan
a mouthful to a footfall
until i flop myself down
and exit upon a hook
where there’s no season or clime
no bother of raison d’être etcetera
campanile bells ring their changes
changes to measure compatible
lively the moment to strike
or strict
to which they turn their tongues
pulled and reeling
heel and toe as we go
with a heigh ho hey nonny no
upon each taken yeasty breath
footing it tempo to the body’s beat
urged by primal legacy
mutability my theme
taken at its worth sobeit!
cogency sent from earthandsky
mmv
... because you asked for it:
If now exists
it aint simple whit
precise fit to Greenwich
meantime gone
nor when you were born
slipped womb pellmell
with anguished yell
dammit!
mmvii
Beauty mediates
though immediate
how can that be?
what’s out there
ceases to be the other
and draws us
hither from thither
in a splendid identity
mmiv
Am i sane or am i mad
a dog in the manger
hating the stranger in myself?
good and evil we were twain
but god is dead
so i am half-alive
which is the very devil!
they swear the seed i bear
is cursed even unto the trump of doom
which is why i would bid my heirs
fare-thee-weal or fare-thee-woe
meanwhile i’m stuck among the either-ors
see-saw margery daw
johnny shall have a new master
why rue the devil’s encores
adam’s legacy not mine!
i’m wiser pay him no heed
he’ll get meaner and meaner
aggravate his spleen and bust
until then i won’ t mention
good/bad honour/lust
embrace the difference between
without being one or t’other
i’ll arrange a humane paronym
brother i’d rather say amen:
to my little i am and big i am
hello in there stranger
i’m no dog in the manger!
mcmlxx
To be is no verb
it is me
scion of family tree
to dig up my roots
you’d recognize brutes
as small as could be
which is where i began
matter of fact
an animated that
herb browser or flea
my ancestral tree
mould raised up
from spirit or dust
what matter
to be in one word
it is me
mmiv
End has end beginning beginning
trouble is ouroboros swallows tail
stays dumb rational verity blown
like cause and effect which effectually
waltz around ballroom to metric strains
east is east and west is west
until you re-orient your swatch of the sun
day's begun when day is done
dexter or sinister take your pick
devil's due: virtue he elicits
by whose light or darker insight
are shadows cast that ne'er standfast
sun doth run after-burners on
nor wait upon humanity's condition
no lad no lass
polarity's bad cess
imperative challenge no small change
logic and grammar's perplexity
okay to spit it out quick
before you choke or get anal-ytic
why taken for granted as how
example: throne of god occupied by his nibs with beard
photo op frontally posed
as if transparency in action
behind scenes access denied
consequence: chimerical inklings
lead us on
to gratuitous intent
apochryphal precepts
invoke fealty to almighty
ben- or mal-evolence
dispensed removed
within or beyond reason
though we invent incantation and sacrificial offering
to allay and propitiate
'step on crack: break my back'
hexed? oh hell no sweat!
mumbo-jumbo survives
from aeons before Satan's get
tail-end peace quivers as gross felo-de-se war
clamps jaws
ego trip evolutionary dance
sink or swim mayhem
oughta be maxim:
hyena's leftovers' slim-pickins fattens cosmic cycle
rhythmic stress maintains integrity
keeps us hopping
harmony of spheres tactical guessing game
verity's rationale withholding contingency
beggar's coat fit to blow its stitches
ludicrously vain this either-or dogmatism
presented even before you lose your baby teeth
brusque truth crunching on tempting rusk
no no no nooh No!
""oh no" limits conditions of play
worries caged lion into apathy
mmvii
At the top of the food-chain
he who fell
fell ill
what a to-do about
nothing that whatever could be done
until the spill-
age upset
was righted
alright! he remained
at the top
not the height
of the food-chain
lower than before
before the fall
for the chain is a cycle
nobody's on top
of this never-bottoming-out
well ...?
never!
or always as long as
that
mmv
Who turned off the sun
and fixed it on those mountains?
If I am crazy
why any mountains
why my beloved sun
why darker clouds
and persistent unruly winds?
suspicions rule my brain
and you laugh it off i know
cleverly defending your ego
but i? suspicions remain
why any sun
why any sky
why do clouds fly
and no rain fall?
peripheral light and shadow
lie between
humanity and insanity
and the pain of the crossing touches my cerebellum
eyballs switched back to front
cutting off the sun
and the clouds
they bring no rain
with their cold penumbra
only doubts suspicions remorse
running wild
while people twirl parasols on mountain-tops
tomorrow
today I am a fearful child
mcmlxx
Topsy-turvy sweetheart blues
Topsy-turvy sweetheart
woman who ain' true
won' pay y' no min'
whoso livin' hoopla romance
gets lef' behin'
so don' pay y' no min' woman
who ain' true
topsy-turvy sweetheart
bubble that blew
won' pay y' no min'
trick's turn back on you
topsy-turvy sweetheart
swear worse'll happen
clean gotta go through
stop posturin' woman
i won' woo
i'm battered woman
battered bleak n' blue
no more bad news
seen y' clear through
don' pay y' no min'
turnin m' back on you
mcmlxxxvi
Pus is pus
and rot is rot
lower than life
not worth the fuss
no sooner noticed
than dismissed
those foul accmpaniments
of gross disease
whose ethic from paradox construe
to conserve by getting rid of
where death protects this onerous virtue: life
an imperative by conflict hidden
mmvii
Jerrymemad sniffs phooey
you z growed up topsywise turvey
accept yr white-liveried n black moodz
oh my-giddy-aunt fatalism
accept yr tergiversatin n faint heartz
lazydaisical-lacks-resolution
yer breakin wind aint inspiration
nor sweat on brow dew frum heaven
piss alley rules y
piss alley rules y
piss alley rules y
tad z taken shepherdz crook n bosunz starter
fer granted
aint that how yr state-f-art animal adapts
aint that exactly where pragmatrix leads yr
aint that tackin thru divers crowds f premisses
aint that yr puretest enigma n variations
aint that yr cock-n-bullier circumstances
red rag-written-off by-n-large
oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah
alley wit-in-residencez sees-n-saws
wealth z
coin f realmz half-arsed swollen model
as fart is to shit
wealth z
bottle corked r pig bled
after shit z forked n spread
seed spilled nursed n fed
alley loo yeah chorus cries
oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah
filosofusser will go a-musing:
what fool will bravely naively disinfer
originall bitterend
where peacez stagnant regime
warps across warz mayhembez regimen
could be clockwise crack f cockalarum doom
importunate knock on too-little-too-late door
unimportant as lubricious peccadillo
that lays to rest nightfall head on pillow
lolloping waves
tossed heads f trees
tip-toeing clouds
upsy-daisy downsy-daisy
banality f words
aint no revolution
what suffices comes back to haunt y
being lonely-onliest iz price paid
eat
drink
be merry
be wise
return c.o.d.
unless product satisfies
tadz soleloquy
no sir no sirrah no sirree
to be aint not-to-be
even secondhand look
on timez face
can see
more lies in wait
than hourglass sand run out
life z handheld candle
meant to burn steadfastly
till snuffed when infirm
like fellow-de-se sun
sheddin brightness on disarray
to make sense of
day in day out
expirin when dayz work done
cry amenity cry alley-buddha-loud-yeah
cry amen fr humanity
utter last by tad
got mentors n tormentors
taken hints n kicks
licked sugared ifs n salty buts
heard calliope round f blasphemies n tut-tuts
goin out where i came in
joy z efficacious
dated anterior to dis-ease
which sends contentment
to its knees
truthz bein antinomial
doesn't matter
like odd pairs of socks
found in wash with fluffed curses
that beg or borrow hysteria
yeah listen to tad be aware
bottom line by default z diaperin n spankin buttocks
blind alley filosofusserz paradiddle:
serves no humane purpose
this bein led up garden path
or down
by revolutions
turns of juggernaut wheel
to which we are hung
as if buckets to scoop
and fill with earthz richness
pockets f plenty-plunderers
mountebanks that exploit
our weal and woe
writin finis over our shed bodies
in name of advantage
oh whose
no not ours nay
cry out to toiling-wheel-year-by-yearz-turning whoa
cry woe to wheel
poetasterisk bids envoi
cry qui vive
looksee peoplehole
knock on portal
where revealed other eye or i
self beyond self
terra incognita
"here be strange misshapen beasts"
ill-omened to deter seers n pilgrims
from discovering wonders greater than allegory
land with no tongue to praise
take carnal oath
cross boon-companion heart
void phlegm
cleansing fistula where sooth runneth
question maudlin liver n sepulchrous spleen
let intimate organs run together compliantly
like sojourney moon and journeyman sun
we be all seeded properties
accommodated over noble celestial endowment
to fare in singular animation
aware and not aware according to lore
in whose backyard we cant put ultimate shape to
nor entertain in courtesy resident mage
if such there be
except to dream upon
aint that yr daffy-down-dilly finderz-keepers
gone to flinders upset revelation
bless yr joie de vivre liver
bless yr leapfrog kissin heart
may that fire up engrams in yr corpus callusom
till y forget who you are n find out what y iz
alley weal rule y
alley weal rule y
alley weal rule y
oh yeah alley-wise weal rule y
The End.
On Garrowby Hill
where we push the bus
the passengers fuss
the driver sez dammit
the bus it fumes
till we reach the summit
where down it zooms
whining shrill
on Garrowby Hill
mm
(Note by amanuensis: Laurie says this poem was inspired by an experience on Garrowby Hill, E. Yorkshire, UK, one New Year's Eve in the late 1940s.
The hill is famous for it's precipitous slope. See a view from the top, here.
A painting by David Hockney, Garrowby Hill, exhibited in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts: see larger image at ARTinthePICTURE.com.)
Busy the moon is
fair to see
busy to play
hide-and-go-seek with
at night among the clouds
even in my dreams
my fairest dreams
replete with felicity
i have not seen fairer
ah, that i could capture
capture and kiss
those maiden-proud lips
but lo! presently
she shape-shifts
into a haggard old man, listless:
why, oh why?
mmv
Oh, to hell with thee, bright morning
who with thy one good eye
startles my coiled senses
into dazed antipathy
go spin thy sticky spider’s web
to catch the flies and dew
surprise the bloodless lily
who may see her petals droop
or send the morning glory up
a fence to reach the top
thou order’st
they can’t resist
the mad engendering
but i possess the state they miss
and spurn thine urgent ambience
so toil away with cocksure vim
but withdraw the importunate summons
thy mandate sooner i’d ignore
than break my snoring sacrament
for i was old when thou wert born
summary impertinent may dawn
mcmlxxiv
Wearied feeling low
sitting just so
silence wise
senses reach through dimensions
inhabiting head
felt to quick
softly softly resolution
other out there let go
sun bright on balcony curtains
furnishings settle with differences
even traffic noise receding
simultaneous coincident calmness
presences lose solidity
talk justifying talk can frame
unanswerable: who how what where when why
let float like motes in sun's bright wands
searching shadows
needing no perusal
for again that unimpeachable moment of clarity
mmvii
To this world we must turn
from mighty to mite
through flesh and mineral and composite
to how we comply
tis answer fit
in tasks we bend
with work we play
no passing show
in rhythmic dance our motions flow
from toddling strut to shuffling gait
out of earth we came
to earth we go
our questing place
both to and fro
mmvii
jeremymad sez
examine rough side f tongue
loud-mouthing revolutions
lasting as barleycorn brew fealty oath
examine fine sadness
when exhausted battalions died in van
yr freebooter economix taint
carried over into war
examine exhumed etceteras
don't need religious mirror fr hindsight
look inside own eyes
cleansing limbic foreshore
exercising remedial franchise
brainless conscienceless commensal would rule us
virtue meanly becomes because
spoilsport playing second fiddle
reckons to oust first
limning z detraction
articulation z fits n start r petit mal
tadz revally
sing nonsuch song
sully me none
originall
aint reciprocal
portrait z not sitter
diabolic tease n pucker lips aint master
tad climbs out of consanguineous bed
waking up topsywise turvy
pinches self
finds originall aint reciprocal
sully me none
sing nonsuch song
originall aint reciprocal
. . . wake up call!
tadz revalleyation
we iz uz n we aint uz
we z premissory notes
thrown at in-f'r-penny infer-pound arena
we z oracular crystal balls
divided over divinin what iz n what ought to be
we z shrove tuesday tops
whipped into whizkid dizzyin transports
we z cinctured catherine wheels
explodin in demonstrative splendour
over grand almighty firmament
pledge yr carnivalleytory oath
may alley weal rule y
yeah may alley-wise-we-all rule y
“I think incessantly of those who were truly great
who left the vivid air signed with their honour”
stephen spender
Compelling tidal rhythms
enthrall our corporeal selves
demand pertinent attention:
pulsing waves awash
heart's drumbeat in earthmother's womb
like cathedral choirs
voices raised and falling
organic accompaniment
periodic cascades of seafoam
that caress and embrace with force
recipient shores
transition from what goes before
into what comes after
flex and reflex
progressively alternate
impromptu most consummate
this everlasting now
mmvii
welkin wonderer sez hi
lookit thoroughfare
there z shortcoming n shortcommons
there z long suits n trumps
there z shortfalls n longhauls
there z speed bumps n traffic summons
y takes y lumps
pavement payment due y'all
wayside pulpit propheteer extolls
lookit strait n arrow
there z marbelous walks n fountains no lack
there z guilded halls n recitals by bach
there z haloes n harps n angels in flock
there z bullion vaults n arches by max
o laud sing amen you all
jeremymad sez nay
second lookit thoroughfare
direct route leads from what z lapsed
to what z perhapsed
turnpike avenue f revenue
culled sacks by bushel
cost f express or posthaste
lookit crooked mile reward
pecks f kisses from missus
who z dandlin crooked kid on crooked knee
halt cant leap crooked stile
toll litters concourse
idiots havenots simpletons loonies freaks
derided scorned despised
hated hounded abandoned
hum-hum fall-out peradventure
singular wail'll tell y
cry ai ai ai amend y'all
alack n woebegone y
alley weal be on y
alley jest supposes:
wish-on-a-star risk
salvation by degree or decree
aint no noble savage manimality to save us
nor godlinexus tween earth n heaven
pray for magnumanity
we iz free to be what we iz to be
free of our own apronstrings
if to be human z inhuman
n to go ape z divine
alley wail rule y
alley wail rule y
godz chillun gotta sing fer breakfast
godz chillun gotta sing fer fast break
fulcrum z sprung on no arm-twisting
bejesus submission-hold
cryin uncle
double fiddle-di-dee mooseracktangled knackeryard knot
aint where it z at
none f us need eat own shit
however recipe got
resident alley filosopuss spits ox off tongue
onto barrelhead
given body z at odds
survival-toolshaped n flawed
tool must sharpen edge
remove elder burr
care for wits n senses
alley-wort hooks alternative abode
digs in discommodious niche
flouts landlord with single-minded salute
disrespectin rite-n-propertied gallantry
cross-purpose malefactoring
later consummate address
alley green thumb rules extend y
chess knight moves bent like legs f athletes
refractory can be canny advocacy
examine limb as patent crook
limited animal enjoys joint cooperation
articulation tangential asset
machine can wipe own arse
peeper can fetch bum through looking glass
limber coupling to strangerself
schitzy split extended into
by hook or by crook
with the corollary: i'll be first in my book
cutting off friendly hand in exchange for
prosthetic gauntlet
roses bred for comely face
leads to ditto noses
as inference perforce
rounds off supposes
You have the whole outdoors!
this place is mine not yours
stay off the premises
before goodbye
slips into hello
just go
because we're done with kisses
and tête-à-têtes
we're done – that's flat!
even though i can't bear to hear
knock-knock! on my door
in the tear-drop silence
fretful bothered you'll arrive humming
as if sans souci were doh-ray-mi
i'll not burn a candle incensed
nor put up a shrine to honour your absence
oh horrors
damn you no!
never forget
this place is mine
you've got the whole outdoors!
mmvii
Wearied feeling low
sitting just so
silence wise
senses reach through dimensions
inhabiting head
felt to quick
softly softly resolution
other out there let go
sun bright on balcony curtains
furnishings settle with differences
even traffic noise receding
simultaneous coincident calmness
presences lose solidity
talk justifying talk can frame
unanswerable: who how what where when why
let float like motes in sun's bright wands
searching shadows
needing no perusal
for again that unimpeachable moment of clarity
mmvii
Out in the vastness of the deep
stars may crumble stars may creep
whence they come and whence they go
is not for you and me to know
here at home we’re clearer far
more near what is, and how things are
yet we tremble at the stepping stones
and glory in our ignorance of thrones
mmv
Go away rainy day poet!
mention the sunny south of the hill
the crumbling cliffs of gravel
or hurrying cricks that hop and skip
among the pebbles singing of the sea
and the green treetops on tippytoe
to watch the starry Venus climb while I’m
lazily gazing at the farther spaces
beyond mountain peaks places
a tide the sun knows and I reply
to the question: yes i yes yes i!
mcmdl
War:
that stirs men's hearts
with horror in the aftermath
Future wars are deadly
but not as real, as mud
and blood, and recognizances
in spirit. I mean the end
we inherit.
As if we should
disport our senseless appetites
in rage, confiding passions
that could eat our hearts out:
a puritanic ecstasy!
This is me: the one who feared
and queered his fate
grotesquely losing what he ate
in nausea. Back when
men were men, in spite of wit
that blunted on the stones of accident.
What was meant by Ghandi when he prayed
for men to come as men in passive sort,
when blood smells blood? The lip may sneer
until the debt is paid. Odds are now laid.
mcmlxiii
How many fractured bits can brain juggle
mind-boggling kaleidoscape gives us fits
dismiss putative genius machine
analytical engine cant handle contrary witz end
logicz compulsion versus compunctionz prick
take recess
fork out excess from wallet
looksee corny carnivalley routine
whether you eye manna r elixir
snake-oil mountebank
gets famous two-cents worth leg-in-door
take yr shibboleth truth
other-worldly conception
high-minded n high-handed
takes pride in belonging
implies diabolical opposite
them n us scenario
summon alley law yeah
prima facie case
synthetic origin
birth n death
nearest portals to herebeforeafter
apposing miniscus in peristaltic tube
whose orifaces
neither unfriendly nor benign to lookers-on
what z behind aint principals 'r participants
not so z we can tell
comes consummate logic
ulterior test
logic z fabulous butcherz hook
holds pertinent carcass up to light
dwells at cutting edge
molesting or unobserved as
maybe
alley pince-nex whiz sez
use logix excruciating zeal
as if own tippytoes were dancing
on knockaway stool
logix antiscorbutic
headhunter n torturer
logix occamatic doctor
cuts afflatus
sutures deflated windbags
logix private soldierz housewife
kept in knapsack next futile baton
logix neat accomodation
twixt jack sprat n spouse
resident alley pince-nex whiz sez 2
logix bullyboy rack f stag
f'r browbeatin upstart tads
logix ebb n flood climacteric
like doughty salomon salt n freshet battle
logix cartwheels denied necktied gantry birds
logix man-o-war walkin on air
over chops n combers
logix triumph 'f mindin over matter
transverse n logitudinal propagations
cos matter rules mind natch
logix object lesson in lab n lav
ports n heads fr snoopin n poopin
logix poker-faced intro
to wild cards n boneyard
hazards
some tricks run tally-ho in packs
some knaves grab tarts
flee
single-minded
when logic fails
dice n heads roll
all bets off
alley bywords n o-biter dicta
nix on strong medicine
massive dose moral reason
thrust holus bolus down gullet
from pulpitz height
as if prescription for what ails y
lookit cop-out nostrumdamnus
heady spoonfulz dial-mass-f-pottage
sorrel leaves for poets
noun secateurs for philosofussers
soupcons for garcons
lookit snakebitten victims f jacobz ladder salesmen
dumped back on no-soon-tomorrow square zero
waitin to throw fixit six
chuckleheadz dice handicap
lookit turnagain worthy citizen
pussyfootin-boots exemplar
for mutinous subjects n refactory masses
justifyin consignment f daffydowndillies
to dark lordz dominion
headstrongarmed contingents f liabilities
shepherded like vehicular particulars
down gauntlet freeway to tomorrowyeah
may alleyways rule y
WWhen i was charmed and young, lad
i swung a fancy ankle
i was a fancy lass
i swayed my nifty arse, luv
to catch your fond attention
to lure you, bold as brass
though i was almost six and teen
and you were teen and seven
my heart was some mischevious
and love was nearby heaven
now i am sick and worn, lad
and languish in a haven
and you are dead and mourned, luv
and i am sore bedridden
though i am sixteen-sixty, lad
and frown at what i am
i’d still strut a fancy ankle
I’d sway a nifty bum
to catch your fond attention:
it’s soon how years has gone!
mcmlxxx
My memory is a garden
that cannot now grow
flowers
and the weeds
are rank
where once you walked
i love the weeds
for they too
are never looked at
twice
my heart’s ease
begs
by the sidewalk
of your attention
wild flowers
still grow
where once we walked
and i pick them
one by one
in case you pass by again
and think
those stupid flowers!
When you’re on top
you’re on top
you can lift the mountain
on to your shoulder
when you’re on the bottom
you’re on the bottom
you gotta tackle the legs
‘o the mountain
boulder by boulder
mm
When askt t’ rite a solstiss pome
I think o’ things i’d like t’ say
An’ then said thingz they goez away –
O, blow ‘m!
hey ninny ninny artificial tongue
hey nonny nonny umbrageous folly
hey ho grind y'r calliope navel
belly-got lingo n fulcrum
you'll come to answer for boys n girls
then make hey n alley hoopla
you'll swing n hang together ah
say nay say nay
universal rule z ululated out f court
adjudged contemptible hoax by lore
bought n sold as baggage at birth
ain the ticket
cry alley weal rule y
alley weal rule y yeah
tad lotos-legged
mistakin kaleidoscope toy
f'r originall view of stars
announces
grab yr wrecker bars
prise yr freedom
bend yr prison bars
hammer yr landlords
tatterdemalions
ragamuffins
smash yr cages
smithereenz ultimatum pattern
best bet from gifthorsez mouth
peopleholez aperture
take yr simple looksees n quaint saws
hand-me-maidenly-down savvy views
like whales wheezing bottom
gotta break f'r air
spout n aspirate
mouth draws breath
eyes swivel looksee
apprehensive or proprietorial
you can like it and you can lump it
shouldn't wonder if phases f moon
states f mind to suit
from rags f thought to velvet britches
from silk purse to wild-oat-sowerz ear
round n round n round again
say nay say nay
cry alley weal rule y
alley weal rule y yeah
howl z bestial tongue
n sting f bee z eloquent colloquy
wail z primitive lingua franca
venomous bite z comprehensive lexicon
alley caterwaul sez
kiss off almighty liason
too-too wholesome seminal integrity
qualifications admit
like roosterz definitive performance at dawn
on tipheap
while adjunct hen demonstrates lay f land
kiss off citadel and temple
stronghold or glamorous makes no mind
potentate on balcony acknowledging masses
pulls bitter plum from pie with flourish
kiss off history as looking up to looking back at lot
slumdwellerz paradigm
brick by brick pile nondescript class erect
cause n effect monumental improvidence
ripoff hi-rise particular people disown
say nay say nay
cry alley weal rule y
alley weal rule y
yeah
