LADY MUCK:

Haugh
Haugh
Haugh
Sneers Lycra woman
Skimming across morning waters
Intimidating us
With muscular shoulders
And focused determination
To maintain a perfect body
Chastising us for sailing up
The wrong side of her river

I slip another biscuit
From the packet
Dip it in my tea
And return a smile

I just got back
From the other side of the world
Breathing the recycled breath
Of thousands
Wrapped in a tin can
And shot through the sky
Had my my skin turned inside out
And salted
Emotions flayed
And reconstructed
Into some useful
A dancer
A transmitter
A receiver
A piece of double sided tape
A traveller
A dog
A smiler
A signer
A hold on tighter
A don’t let it outer
A player
A watcher
A collector
A longer
A misser of things
And peoples
A place
On the other side of the world

I just fell out of the sky
With field dust
And desert dust
And city dust
And taxi dust
And minibus dust
And ports cabin dust
And smoke machine dust
In my lungs

Head turned to mush
Crossing international date lines
Boarder lines
Washing lines
Fine lines
The smell of pines
Illuminated by disco lights
On sacred tribal lands
And helicopter emergencies
Red lights flashing
Don’t worry mom
I’m doing fine, fine, fine
Keeping it inside the line
Good boy
Doing time
All that
Tick
Tick
Time
Where were you
Lady muck
Skimming across morning waters

(K)