The Moment.
Whales!
I heard there were whales lunging out of the water
at Henley South,
“sleek and smooth as peach slices”,
one eye witness said.
I finished what I was doing and went down
for a look.
But the sea was flat and empty.
There were only a pair of cyclists on the other side
doing up their clips
and a pelican amongst the gulls gazing wistfully to a spot
Where something might have been.
No sun was out. The sky was whale-grey.
I had missed the moment.
You’re Welcome.
I like it when the little red light comes on
over the bell
to notify you, you have a comment.
I sit forward in my chair, put down what
I am reading & click —
what has the genie brought me?
A bouquet of roses, a snarl or tepid praise?
Anything is better than being ignored.
Who wants to be a wallflower?
Even a ‘like’ will do.
Some blow hot, some blow cold.
But for diplomacy and even-handedness
this one takes the cake:
‘Thank you for sharing this idea’.
You’re welcome, Anita.
I like being a bystander for once
sitting back watching the state of play
from the bleachers
reading what catches my eye
than who wrote it
an innocent on the sideline
no agenda
and suddenly just noticing
the golden buckles of my notebook
binding the pages together
A Pod of Poems.
A pod of poems
playful as porpoises
swim around in my head
ride the brainwaves
listen ! you can hear them
whoop like surfers;
look, ,some even leap
onto the page
*pic by pinterest
Hey, mate. You got a screen up there? A TV set?
What’s the reception like?
Your favorite show starts tonight, you know the one you weren’t allowed to watch
because K said, “Real men don’t watch ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ “
but you recorded it anyway, you sneaky bastard, when her back was turned
and watched it when she went shopping.
I’m about to watch it now. Hope the boss up there doesn’t mind.
I miss you mate. It’s been ten years since you were took.
Anyhow it’s about to start. Catch you later, I hope.
Happy viewing.
What Were They Thinking, My parents …… ?
What were they thinking, my parents,
when they took me,
a kid of ten,
to the drive-in back in ’55
to see ‘Rebel Without A Cause’?
Weren’t they aware
of its rating?
the furore it caused when released in the States?
the horrific ‘chicken run’ scene ?
You know the one
where two cars, one driven by Dean, the other by his rival,
race towards a cliff over looking the ocean
and whoever jumps out first is the chicken?
Dean jumps out just in time,
the other driver, his jacket sleeve caught in the door handle,
plummets to a fiery death onto the rocks below
his bulging eyeballs
filling the screen.
It was horrific, thrilling and a great moment in cinema.
But should I have been watching it?
Amped,
It’s terrible when you’re amped
and don’t know why
or worse still
don’t know what to do with it.
You could go for a run
get all hot & sweaty
but you’d need to shower afterwards
for that appointment with the oncologist.
So you sit here on the chair
feet madly tapping
while you keyboard this stuff
onto the page.
It’s gotta be good for something.
Like that ‘Guide For Anchoresses’ [c 1230] says:
‘The heart is a full wild beast
and maketh many wild leaps’,
Servo: Tales From The Graveyard Shift.
Stories. As rich and racy as those in Homer’s Odyssey. They spill out of the book. A menagerie of strange beasts David Goodwin, service station attendant, encounters on his first months on the job at a Melbourne outlet. These are all true. This is a factual account. A Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.
David himself is the calm in the eye of the storm. In one chapter he tells us his guiding principle, a practice he calls ‘Servo Karma’ and how he uses it on a crazed young man ‘off his face on booze and coke’. This chapter alone, bracingly narrated, is worth the price of the book [though I have a library copy].
These characters are as fascinating as any of Dickens; or Thackeray’s creations. In the chapter worthy of ‘The Twilight Zone’ David recreates the alternative worlds these characters inhabit. But once inside the servo these ‘refugees’ light up and the narrative bounces around like a basketball with Tourette’s.
Do yourself a favour, as Adam Ant would say [in ‘Ant Music’] and get yourself a copy. Your local servo may stock a few.
Always.
There’s always
A way in
A way around
An impasse
A chink in the armour
An Achilles heel
To any problem
A David for every Goliath
: pic courtesy of pinterest
play on, my darlings,
play on
in the balmy sea breeze
brush against each other
such sweet coquettish love
play on
the big bad gardener
comes tomorrow
with his scythe.
John Malone 
You must be logged in to post a comment.