I saw him again.

He chuckled at my presence.

Please love her for me.

If only you realized
what you do to me.

My yolk drips from
the ruined shell, and
evaporates in the sun.
All yellow to yellow.

As if the ovate would
smudge your lipstick,
and fill the cracks in-
between your ribs.

A sunflower smile.
A sunflower smile.
Fulvous and Stoic.
A crocus never cries.

Push me to the back,
'cause all the others
are intact, whoa, just
push me to the back.

And leave your lemon-
peels at the door, all
tawny from the souls.
Flaxen stains on the shoe.

A split libido.
A peeled banana.
With no-one to slip.
Makes me wanna laugh.

Love me nots in mounds,
until the nucleus is barren.
Oxeye's odds in hell.
I'll leave it up to chance.

They move as lace
through the discarnate night;
Soft, volitional footsteps along disturbing corridors,
with outstretched
scalpel-esque appendages,
******* five, adjacent, stimulating patterns-

getting deeper-

 
Deeper.


And flashing their leer
of quivering needles.
Lullabying odiums to Johnny-*****;
Drinking his breath in the night.

O, for an exposed ripe?
Seeing only a diced-fraction of hell?
Will you not rest in the light?
Or wisp away in the rigid winds of reality?

The dawn is riding forward-

As the last tree in the forest falls with a whisper.

How to tell a joke
                -Advice given to a Lady-

PREAMBLE-
Know your audience  Know your subject

PREPARATION:  WRITE out your joke in full,
read it aloud many times.
REMOVE all diversions, inconsequential and trivial.
CHECK for confused references
ENSURE you have a command of the required terminology.
DO Laugh at other people's jokes before attempting    your own (this is called 'seeding')
Get the round in before attempting your joke.


.                  Try not to get out of your depth

AVOID sporting, scientific or technical references-
limit your choice to *** and fashion.
Political issues may only result in your being confused.
DO Laugh at other people's jokes before attempting    your own (this is called 'seeding')
Get another round in before telling your joke.
DO not sweat.

                                           Practice brevity
                                           Remove 25% of what's left
                                           Remain calm


Remember to blink

EVENT- Style is everything:
             delivery is more so
-
PRACTICE eye contact
AVOID staring continually at the same person
DO not wear checked shirts, dungarees or men's boots
DO not mumble
DO not rush delivery
LEARN to lower your vocal pitch
REMEMBER to breathe
DO not show signs of fear

                                           Practice brevity
                                           Remove 25% of what's left
                                           Remain calm

Ask a chap about posture
Ask a chap for advice
Ask a chap for his approval

Try to relax

AVOID tearing-up beer-mats
DO not fidget
DO not under ANY circumstances cough - burp - stammer, pass wind,
or giggle hysterically during the performance.
Turn OFF your mobile 'phone.
Try NOT to look nervous.

POST SHOW- Do not apologize for your effort
                     Do not cry
                     Do not attempt an encore

re-edit

words Tommy Carroll

To be in New York at the hour of your resolve
would be to contribute a tear with a titan
whom realized your misery,
and revelations.
To see your reflection in every mourner;
A kaleidoscope of what the head
could not surmise.
The downtrodder's voice
speaking out once more, for us.
Smirking,
and rushing through the streets;
The pallbearer of your own passage.

The gutters have lost their rat-king.
The utterance lost their laureate,
and I have lost a friend, to which,
our existence was never known.

one two three four five
here it comes again
one two three four five
but why is she surprised
one two three four five
(they said the counting would help)
one two three four five
“look in the mirror”
one two three four five
“tree trunk thighs / stomach expanding like the universe”
one two three four five
outside doesn’t matter (they said)
one two three four five
“eyes too wide / nose too long / lips don’t close”
one two three
so she can’t stop the words pouring out in heart-piercing whispers
one two
“ugly / unlovable / unkissable / unfriendable”
one
maybe one day she’d pour enough ugly out to be size
zero