A big shadow,
Overgenerous,
Sits quietly
As the lamplight sleeps
On its side.

The clock beats inside my thumb,
Ash kisses the floor,
Teeth wear fur.

Somewhere there is a TV,
And people clap.
Dare I eat more chewing gum
Just to find it in my hair?

Harriet –
I have wanted to say this
For a million years.

Your face is cruel.
Your daughter
Popped all those balloons because
She didn’t want that party -
And Eton will not
FIX YOUR SON.

This family is split down the middle –
The hard ******* and the
Fruitloops.
Get used to it, Harriet.
Your kids belong to us.

An inch -

the most
unsung
jacket
of skin

of tongue

of fur

of floorboard.

Run me over

Give me
An
Inch

And one more
And one more
And one more
And one more

Pale cradle
My skin hurts

My knees are two angels
In love with my face.

I’m a dead cherub
With a cigarette
And the shakes –

Tell me I smell like a bath-bomb,
Tell me I’m worth your time,
But never let me know
That you know
That I’m afraid.

Take a crayon to this page –
Contrary to popular belief
I love bright colours,
Especially on a Sunday when it’s wet.
(This is when everyone does colouring in,
Because water does not stick to wax.)

Take a crayon, darling,
Tickle me pink.

Of course – a blush
Of course - a rose,
Ecg plasters,
Hives,
And the blood
On the feet
Of eternal fouettes.

(Red hourglass woman
Turns everybody’s heads –

Because she's so far away from death
And because she's red, baby, red.)

Fossilized
Bed frame in the garden
Picked bare by the vulture of rain.

Analyse.

Mustachioed archeologists
Will dustily brush
Its slatted ribcage
And wonder how many years it suffered.

“This ornate four poster,
This mahogany rollercoaster,
Was used to aid in sedation and
Sensation.
To the best of our knowledge
It seems to have broken
Under the weight
Of a boy's imagination.”