#422 Une simple histoire d'amour

All she left him when the
relationship ended was a

chair. Decorated with a lion's
tale to remind him how

boastfully he had entered. Of
such small size that it was only

the humiliation of dismissal
that meant it fit him at the end.

#421 from Aube à l'antipode

                                On the other side of the
                             globe an hourglass over-
                                      turns. There is no
                       breakage. Even so, things start
                             shutting down. Dusk arrives. 
                                  Here, the stage is empty
                                   until Lionel Ritchie appears.
                            He breaks into song. Sings
                                          All night long. In the un-
                             seen audience we see a man's 
                               face fracture as if it were
                                        a mirror. Dawn breaks. 

#420 La Bonne Fortune

& in the supermarket I
buy a pack of pickled
pigs' ears for the alligator.
He doesn't eat them —
dietary or religion I'm
not sure which — but it
carries a simple message.
Stay in line or watch out!

& for the pig I buy a faux
alligator-hide handbag.
She's a lovely animal, &
will appreciate the gift;
but, once again, the mess-
age is aimed at the 'gator.
Step out of line, & the
next one won't be fake!

I go to lunch; the sniping
starts again behind me.
Pig in a poke, I hear from
the pool. Gator so full of
sugar it sold out for that
added aid comes grunting
from the pen. I can't be
bothered quietening them.

#419 Still Life

The tensions ensure that life
is never still. A cathedral or

a school, angular, unplugged,
slides off into the grays &

blues of night. A man moves
forward. He is wearing a mask.

Eyes move along the side of
his head. Birds sing on the

sidelines, not that there are any
of either there. Bards sing in

the background. Keeping them
quiet & still is always a problem.