i held a dying fish                        in the palm of my hand
it was less resurrection&more                      rigor mortis
seven springs     seven autumns         a sprightly finned
gingerbread watched                        a fluctuating shape
assemble pans of assorted                  tastes    colours&
nonsense             marceline         the freshwater queen
to place                               with the stanley park dahlias
or the newsham park lake           the latter was chosen
lex taps the awkward pause                  out into the sink
why are you telling me this          a clown reborn as an
author     not yr therapist    not bobby chariot     but a
serious writer         ascetic&         morally incorruptible
y’know      it’s about tenderness lex     i reply    it’s not
all     acerbic ebullition                    he narrows his eyes
rotates    retorts     girl                     are you sure it’s just
the fantail            you’re upset about           we both say
                                                 subtext            we both say
                                                               jinx
          

uncle i am tracing the lost pubs of battersea with mark hollis

                                                                                          the ghost in his voice

a voice that transcends everything

                                                              burning tyres            car crash viewing

the expression of sarcastic joy

                                                               in binman’s collars                &colours

the orange as a furnace

                                                                the denim                       as a chrysalis

the betting shop as a relic

                                                                                   of a former demographic

this process of crossing the streams

                                                                                     as a collaborative effort  

to hold our nerve with fragmented

                                                                            text    with fragile party lines

with footwork that suggests a certain

                                                                           inclination   reactive response

to return as a bird    a chiffchaff                            

                                                                                         council house&furious

is the area haunted or 

                                                                                  are we just hunted   is the

body politic    cauterized

                                                                               or are we just    unutterable

the city of the dead                              

                                                                  is very much alive                                               tautological

like plenty more    fearful dread

                                                                                                                 dirty cash&            stage fright

where else but stoke newington

                                                                                                                secret policeman’s ball fodder

frogmarched    through amberglow&

                                                                                                            the aura    of anna mendelssohn

acorn squash    artichokes   the heart

                                                                                                                 of social enterprise    feminist

endeavours       abandoned chapels

                                                                                                                    the sect of the state against

the cult of the living

                                                                                                                            the turpitude of wanting

extra time    prepare a sigil from

                                                                                                    a skeleton mask                    a slippery

beermat    write a ritual from

                                                                                                     surreptitious lactose            a passing

green cadillac

                                                                                                                       the hope of serendipitous

                                                              avuncular encounters