Elusive wisdom
thoth (who became hermes who became mercury) Who was both moon and wisdom to the egyptians Manifested himself mainly as an ibis – a watery bird A restless creature that could not stop searching
Thought for the ordinary
be moved by your own time But move it too The sun hasn’t all the answers It can be made to listen to you However adamant the pavement It’s a book of feet Though
A koestler on the human brain
the man and the horse and the crocodile Lay down on the couch together The man said This isn’t going to work The horse neighed I love you The crocodile Slimy as ever Neither
From Proverbs of Hell
(a) radical Ban all fires And places where people congregate To create comfort Put an end to sleep Good cooking And the delectation of wine Tear lovers apart Piss on the sun and moon
Thirteeners
18 If you want a revolution attack Symbols not systems – the simple forms That (blithely) give the truth away Tying down millions to their terms Quietly with no one answering back Where the
Milano
wandering around milan my father I know that (bred in the bone) i’m you I walk and think – my legs roll onwards I take in the atmosphere but not the view But now
Chicken's claw
by a dank and ancient coffin In the gaunt and gloomy hall Alone and sighing deeply Crouched the sorriest crone of all Her worn hands clutched a feather Her eyes were sore with tears
Christmas in a box
the policeman on the streets Found christmas in a box Tipped it down a manhole It wasn’t wearing socks A little old lady nearby – The poor sod’s done no harm She got hit
Shaw and jung
shaw had the gift of the crab How he took the straight idea And scuttled with it sideways Marking sand and word with sea’s Inventions – what shaw perceived Went deeper than the lounger’s
Natural therapy
the great thing about the tall white daisy Is that it knows how to laugh at itself Some flowers for all their rich displays Won’t preen themselves without a primness In their sap –
Confession
for all my country poses My cells belong to a town Grass is symbol-deep in me But brick dips deeper down Mountains knock me sideways A moor chills my bones A field of wheat
Images of snow – february 1996
snow is a thousand flowers The chinese probably said Hundreds and thousands this morning Drop their garlands on my head Last night the festoons started Long before we went to bed Snow is a
Penelope
name meaning thread weaver or duck (these may be guesses from obscurity) Ten-year faithful wife whilst her husband Was gallivanting round the islands Deceiving the suitors by her shroud-unpicking Or maybe not such a