Is the colour that he wraps
around his head.

Scarlet

Material only suited for him,
a tedious labour.

Crimson

Layer after layer,
fold upon fold.  

Ruby

Hair that reached far vanishes,
locked inside the cloth.

Cherry

Elegance tempts me,
the burden repels me.

Vermillion

The surface is silver with a cold edge;
the sides gather dust.

Place a warm finger over the surface,
indent the shape into my skin.

Drag the coin over the table’s surface,
listen to the undefinable screech.

A series of tunes following the pattern,
painting music with a coin.

Bound to the table, it becomes  
impossible to pick up.

One final song as it is dragged across
the table once again.

I have the five pence in my palm,
now what can I buy with it?

Your voice echoes out to me,
like a funeral bell that never stops ringing.

Like the incoming tide,
eroding the mountain that is my sanity.

Like a cuckoo clock
whose alarm is always set for the early hours.

Like a farmyard
whose animals are poisoned with laughing gas.

Like a twisted finger
that always pokes at my bruised forehead.

Like a hungry seagull
crying for food when an entire feast is laid out.

Like an invitation,
asking you to attend the party of an old enemy.

Like a hammer
that goes on a mad rampage inside a china shop.

Like a game of chess,
trying to be intelligent but just ends up being boring.

Like a deck of cards,
one nudge and you end up crashing down on us all.

“They have some cheek!”
A little twitch of the nose,
a little lick on the hands.
Blink once, blink twice, a third.

“I thought we had settled this!”
The hard, white pond makes my
feet sting, the square black puddles
tempting me to stop and have a drink.

“How many times must we do this?”
There is no more stuffiness in the air,
the night inside the walls has vanished.
The acid in the air burns my nose tunnels.

“This had better be the last time!”
Dashing in and out of the polished trees,
covered by the same silky white sky, making
my way to the large silver acorn that never ages.

“We’re going to have to work at this relationship!”
Jumping into the pockets of night hidden in
the crevices, scuffling behind the rubbery ivory.
I wait with anticipation for my yellow beauty.

Forgetting how to walk I end up
falling into the road.
There’s someone singing in my ear.
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
What happened to the leather seats?

Sight begins to blur,
stench of burning tar.
Ghosts stagger towards me,
hulks of grey and black.
Have my hands always been this red?

Wet ears sting,
a chorus of distant screams.
The echo does not fade.
My gaze finds a pile of bleeding metal.
Why are there so many blue lights?

Strange green vests in my view,
I think they’re looking at me.
The world has fallen onto its side,
my head finds a pillow of tarmac.
Why are my eyes so heavy?