TELEPATHY:

Apollo,
Your gates are dirty,
All your kittens wait hopefully,
Outside the kitchen door

(K)

CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN DISCARDED OBJECTS:

I’m sat on a wall,
In the shade,
Where no one can see me,
Between two parked cars,

People take their tops off,
Lie back,
Soak up the rays of the sun,
In a place where they think they can’t be seen,

They don’t interest me,
I look away,
Transfixed by a piece of Red & White tape,
Dancing in the wind,

It makes me happy to watch it dance,
Flashing,
Dynamic,
Deliberate,
Twister,

It talks to me as it jumps around,
Says,
“Hello Karl. How you doing?”

“You look like you need cheering up,
So, here I am”

It whispers,
As it flutters,
Where motorcycles gather,
In silent conversation,
To cook their chrome in the sun

(K)

EDITION OF ONE:

You talk too much,
Too fast,
Too early,
Too much information,
Not enough silence,

Do you know me?
Do you know I’m here?

A single bird,
Gliding,

A cool breeze,

A pine cone,
Hanging like a bell,

A tree in the sun,

When do the cleaners come,
Make everything simple?

(K)

IT DOESN’T SMELL AS MUCH UP HERE AS IT DOES DOWN THERE:

Sleepers,
Open mouthed,
Crook their necks to rest,
Escape this arduous journey,

Inflatable horseshoes cling to necks,
Ears hide in song,

Hold onto the handrails,
Covered in butterfly silk,
Wretched,
Sheltering pathetic,
From a bitter chill,

Smack hand,
Drop down,
Curve away,
A single button cuts the wake of a bigger thing,

Smokers gather,
Where dogs are tethered,
Blown by wind,
As flags,
Describe circles,
Where helicopters dip to rescue,
Deliver us from the backs of sinking ships,

Cover me up,
Let me sleep,
I’m not ready yet

(K)

ASSEMBLED FROM A KIT OF PARTS:

This is the missing Sunday Diary entry,
What happened to it is hard to tell,
Perhaps exhaustion from two months of Fatherland,
Or nine days of Street Poem,
Late nights,
Meetings,
Hand shakes,
Head nods,
Walking through the streets of Manchester,
Living on a thin wire of connections,
Eating irregularly,
Being handed bottles of water frequently,
Told to ‘drink’,
Asked if I’ve eaten,
And what,
Handed bananas & nuts,
Hitting deadlines,
And lifelines,
Answering calls,
And texts,
And questions,
Pointing enquiries in the right direction,
Making connections,
Swerving distractions,
Trying not the ‘think’,
Remembering to disengage the atheistic head,
Craving company,
Travelling,
Always travelling,
Arriving in bits,
Parts,
Components,
To be re-assembled when all materials are on site,
Signing off,
Shutting down,
Crashing but not burning,
Re-emerging as something someone might want to holiday with

(K)

THE CARDBOARD COLLECTOR:

Famous beans,
Torn books,
Temples,
Castles,
Rivers,
Apostles,
Hand,
Fountains,
Kiwi,
Contrail Sunset,
Fish,
Whiskey pony,
Night life,
Beach life,
The colours of Cassandra,
Jigsaw pool,
Pinch,
The scattered spice,
Architectural monuments of drama,
St Barbara,
Kindness,
Mud,
Lemon pie in the heart of a city

(K)

LOATHING AIRPORTS:

It is with a deepening loathing of airports that I sit here,
Waiting for a gate,
Any gate,
To open,
Onto my holiday,

Missed the flight,
Due to officious security,
Who,
None the less,
Missed things they should’ve found,
Who,
Sent the bags back through machines,
Twice,
For every bag we had,
Who,
Kept us emptying,
Re-packing,
Waiting,
Until the flight took off,
As we hurtled through that foul jungle of perfume & booze,
We are made to walk through,
Irradiated by bright lights,
Running,
Running,
Running,
Until we felt sick,
To watch the plane reverse from it’s stand,
Leaving us sweat-soaked & gasping for breath,

The nice young lady in uniform listened,
Checked for other flights,
Handed us over to the nice young man in uniform,

The nice young man in uniform listened politely,
As I told him this was my only holiday,
Guided us gently,
Back through security,
Back across the boarder,
To where we might find another flight,
Smiled,
Waved,
Quietly replying to my exasperation as he left,
That he hadn’t had a holiday in five years

(K)

LAST MANCHESTER:

Today’s the last day I’ll be at UNFEAR,
Oldham Street,
Northern Quarter,
Webcast,
Broadcast on the BBC,
Visited by thousands,
Paint permanently under nails,
Down the back,
Up the front,
Scrubs-up well at the end of play,
Finds a new route to work every day,
The sun,
The rain,
The hand shakes,
The smiles,
Tears,
Head nods,
Head shakes,
The shock,
The recognition,
The surprise,
The realisation,
Conversation,
Information,
Exchange,
A meeting place,
Greeting place,
A gathering place,
Safe space,
Chill-out zone,
A clearing,

Emerge from an alley,
Photograph the street,
The rhythm,
The people,
Walk in,
Greeting,
Smiling,
Shaking hands,
Hand over the sacred music,
Plug-in,
Press PLAY,
Mix paint,
Engage another story,
A face in a photograph,
A name,
A life,
A journey,

Thanks,

Mine’s a black tea,
Sour dough toast,
And marmalade,
Never alone again
(K)

ARE YOU A PAINTER & DECORATOR?:

Running out of space,
The penultimate day of my performance at UNFEAR,
On Oldham Street,
An experience like no other,
I will miss these generous people

(K)

WALKING IN THE RAIN WITH THE ONE I LOVE:

18:00 – close street poem – thank the team – walk home
18:15 – drifting
18:30 – home – wash – watch anything on tv to turn the head off
19:00 – going down with something flu-like
19:01 – decide to go out, get food & air – see some world – write
19:02 – shower – change – scrub-up good
19:50 – leave flat – joke with reception I scrub-up good
19:51 – phone homehome
20:10 – bump into Charles I met last week selling the Big Issue
20:15 – Invite Charles to meet the Street Poem team
20:20 – Charles tells me his dog is called Monty
20:21 – I tell him my Granddad Charles dog was called Monty
20:22 – we both tear up
20:23 – he promises to come to the Street Poem
20:23 – I promise to have the kettle on
20:24 – wander the street until I find food that invites me in
19:37 – home – watch tv to feed my head
23:40 – bed
07:30 – alarm
07:35 – shower – dress – tune into 6music
07:45 – make porridge – reply to emails & texts – take phone calls
08:01 – plan day – write diary
09:05 – leave – walk in the rain

(K)