Valentino was performing high fives
looking for the tried and tested for the night

A frightened lizard showed her reticence
whilst her brothers were rampant in their cravings
partying like  the last days of Rome

Let Peccano tell the truth
for once in his life
He could ungrow his nose
so he could follow  the nostrums

Like a rattlesnake
she said I can take you
to the last days of the Weimar Republic
I can show you discordance
or a decided lack of joy, (Mangel an Freude)
like a lizard's unoriginal tongue
her message conveyed doubt

Some teasers
What comes down faster a pound of feathers or lead
and can you tell the wood from the trees

Are you art worthy
Can I unlearn you
fortune unrenewed
just like a night in Leipzig

A father returns to his birth country
and enjoins  the garden  route tour
from Johannesburg to East London by plane
we enjoyed our Koeksister biscuit on board.
On the road, we saw a Scottish man
with his native maid
sell tartan rugs in  the middle of nowhere
Then  to Plettenberg Bay my parent's honeymoon  abode
where we saw the August Whales at the lookout hotel
through the telescopic lens with a Canadian's Canon  F1  
The waitresses were no more than  16 years
laughing  profusely amongst themselves
We traveled to Cape Town
But I was in  no fit state to join another wine tour
I was “  moeg”  - tired   from the car ride

Hearts and holograms
Snoring shabby cat amongst the rugs.
Pomegranates and playing cards
Memories are like scattered roses

A fireside of crackling antics.
A Soliquoy at its own behest.

These are your tired orange curtains,
silence after the fall,
such a pretty afternoon

She stole daffodils
from park benches
and cemeteries
She told herself she was no
Monster
but a light-fingered missus,
just after a glimpse of the next world.
Besides turning to serenity
she lied to herself
cherishing her conscientiousness

Hearts, holograms,
progremates and playing cards;
kept close to the chest.
A feral cat amongst the pigeons.

A fireside of crackling antics.
A Soliquoy at its own behest.




These are your tired orange curtains,
silence after the fall,
such a pretty afternoon,

Down the cafe
they always hear about my extended dry patch
and it's not just the staff
but customers too that aid and abet
my marooned tadpoles fears
They've encouraged my Ukrainian War poem
and developed my nature poems
from cold patches we have been having
to  near spring-like weather