Then I touched the wetted skinfletching thoughtsthe pod’s skittish deferencea line of sight If I’d said I loved youthere where ancient sandskissed at my toeskeys through ribbon to paper Or the taste of shortbreada slow melt of lemon myrtleold mills in renovationa scalloped turn of edges We pushed the clumsy calfshoving with our backsuntil the … Continue reading Do whales think in blue

It was the silverfishin the endthat finishedthe highwayman’s treasure a malfeased pieceof Victoria’s wedding cakea sliver of majestykept wrapped in muslin purloinscissored from a pillow’s hoodtransported to Hobart by ‘49absconding the famine of Dublin nights and four monthsat captive seahanded down with the storya simmering rebellion taken out of the mouthsof noble gantriesalong with seven … Continue reading Royal Icing, a Christmas Ditty

This is how love ends:I couldn’t get anything rightSo I gave up trying at all.Stuck like a dinghy out pastThe breakers waiting to come in.Watching you shoeless on the beach,Annoyed at the sand I’ve becomeBetween your toes irritatingWhen it used to be a tickling joy.My voice a curlew nowUnmoving in the fog,Persistent though like Archimedes’ … Continue reading not Another small Fucking love Poem

at the table in our favourite placethe waiter I asked not to give me another drinkno matter what I say or dolaughs, and I wonder if you feel it in your bonesway beyond the final shiverwhen all the moments mass to diveinto this abiding everlasting electricityhow the something we feel passbristles, holding on long enoughto … Continue reading Wake

Easing on to my back footSaturday early early Summer, elevenisha sound of cork like poppingthe axe fall of linseeded willowthroughout the mowing suburbs My spine straight as a lithe picketPlane trees shady stalled on shuttera mottled reminisce of Cazneauxour border/kelpie Sophietrotting back the drooly ball Her jet coat a reelin stoppled light from Van Gogh’s … Continue reading I play the perfect cover drive

it might be ice broken glass risesfrom the cambersharp as a walled camp aquaplanings locked treadsin counter curvelose their algorithm a condolence of wattlethe forensic lumen blackwhere primary colours meet something darker rises in me leave things belet the blackberries renouncethe cock’s thrice summons on one arm, motherthe other triptych, fuckerhead forward in a gymnast’s … Continue reading atonement in a carmine morning

Don’t be offendedif as an old love song you’re the needle in my armthe messy heart and anchor tattoo that won’t be scratched outof these polished corridors locked down night and dayawaiting the scuff of attendants as they whistle away‘feel, I’m going back to Massachusetts’ you’re the straightjacketI can’t shake loose of borrowed shoes for … Continue reading Bequeathable Sanitoria

your father had hungbetween the silver birchesstooping copsed guardians imitating a graceful deference yet the sky turned with meand spilled me thereembarrassed a little shaky still able to do a push up while the family cat smirkedand a smiley dog licked the bloodfrom my forehead later when no one looked you first kissed the gravel … Continue reading I span in a hammock

I’m the oldest therewith a special placeby the firenear the instructor don’t know how I arrivedsandwiched between warrior’s poseand that noise in my pelvisjust a click keeping timewith racing decadesin the big D leg roustabout reverse direction six more timesbefore falling asleepin the twenty minutemeditation Stay Awake the teacher breaks througheach set of bellsafterwards rememberingnot … Continue reading Guru

Lilting with query   the native thrush   a fourth note risingLeaves the verse hanging   sometimes a whip bird lashes in   its sudden confident crackWaits for the derailleur to engage   undaunted they interweave   then pause for my whistle backSide look in a perturb slight   they know they have the numbers   and mimicry needs the energyOf a committed … Continue reading Getting the band back together