Dressed in a robe of
A startling white
Tinged with blue.

Eyes rimmed with
dark lashes and
kohl.
Desert eyes.

Lips curled in amusement,
Long hands resting on the latest SUV,
Long, tapered fingers tapping the
door.

An abaya and the arrogant head
turns. Two flickers. One in the eye,
for the slim figure and the body stands
Straighter; taller.

A pretty face,
Unveiled but heavily concealed by
Layers of foundations, shades too light.

The other is a point of light
Through the ear. Yes.
Through the hole in
The ear. His ear.

A djinn slips through
On the cool, night, sea breeze.

I ignore the girl in black and
Slide into the SUV, as easily
As he slipped into my life, as
Easily as the djinn blew through his ear.

I eye the ear. Clean and perfect
To me, despite the gap in his pinna.
Each member of his tribe bears
This inexpert removal.

To let the djinn pass through the
Ear. Else they burrow through the
Canal into the brain,
Trapped by the ear.

Djinn travel with the wind,
You see? We wouldn't want
Madness in the desert. Djinn,
Trapped behind those eyes.

Khol eyes. Arrogant eyes.
Reduced to madness? No,
He wouldn't allow that.
Rather a small imperfection.

He starts the engine.
The pretty face above the
Abaya appears in his line of
Sight again. Mouth's curled no more.

He is uninterested. The
Car roars, slips out,
Joins the highway and
We speed into the night.

I look out the window.
The Djinn travels beside us.

It glitters under the street
Lamps and car headlights
As they move aside,
To let us pass.

Desert dwellers on either side.
One within. One without.

Water horse, sea demon
She demon, green-eyed sprite.
Hunted for centuries
By knights and teenage boys alike.

An avenging spirit of
The frightened and slight,
Yet she cannot travel far
From her watery prison.

Green-eyed monster
As slippery as the weeds
That grow in her underwater
Bower

Lost children and virtuous
Maidens alone have ridden
The demon and survived,
Carried safely to the marsh's edge.

Cabbyl-Ushtey, the water horse,
Seducer of weary travellers -
Unless they possess an innocent heart;
Few escape the watery grave

They vanish into a well as
Mysterious as the mare that lives in it,
Deeper than the ocean and as
Dark as the souls it swallows.

Barefooted teenager
Sliding D&G; watches
Into a bag filled with
Addidas shoes.

It's bonfire night in the cities
Of England. Come out, children,
To the heart of the city and
Bleed it dry.

Betray your hunger,
The greed that consumes you
And the indifference bred into
Your marrow.

Bred by despair and shiny
Baubles in window displays
And worn by all those
Stars in those glossy mags.

It's a consumer's world; it's about
Instant gratification, not hard work -
Even if work could be found.
But why work if you can steal?

Bonfire night. Like when we burn that
Guy. Fawkes? He tried to destroy Parliament
But teenage angst and thugs could do in a few nights
What his barrels of gunpowder couldn't.

Alcohol and **** to last a
Short lifetime. Shopkeepers in the way
Should know better; You can't fight
Irrationality. It has no conscience.

******, loot, burn like in those
Movies about war, Grand Theft Auto,
And a million other games. Just keep
Moving so you never have to actually think.

But just in case, let's blame someone else:
Let's blame race, the Met, politicians,
The schools, the economy, parents -  
Society.

Burn, London. Burn, Birmingham,
Burn, Manchester, Burn Liverpool.
Burn, Gloucester. Burn, burn, burn,
But let tomorrow be just another day.

Bonfire night. Every night.
Till they put out the fires,
Tend the wounded and
Bury the dead.

Just like any bad breakup
Except it never really was.
A dream I held on to until
You became the one I lost.

My skin tingled and my
Stomach got cold. My nose
Started to burn like I was
Coming down with the flu.

You told me you'd set a date
With the girl you'd loved since
You were thirteen.

I remember those days and
They way your voice broke.
I remember the boy you were;
I want him and the man you've become.

My chest is burning with
Happiness because your
Cup is full. Except, I also
Feel like I'm suffocating.

I feel like fury, I could be
Medea. A creature of
Power till the hero broke
Her heart.

I could burn in hell
Or Apollo's embrace.
Be eaten by dragons
If I could just get away!

It's all going to change
And I don't want to grow old.
I feel the clock ticking and
I want it all to stop and go back.

I want it to go back to when
We were children, full of
Angst and pure passion
To a time when I still had a chance.

All I see now, is time racing
Ahead before I have a chance
To reach my goals. I feel forgotten
Though I know you still care.

I couldn't wish her pain, the
Child you love, but I do wish
That I could erase every trace
Of her in this world.

So while I burn inside,
Plummeting deeper,
I wish I could resolve
And ease the pain I'm in.

I don't want to feel numb.
I want to rejoice with you.
I just want us to be something
That never was.

Past meadows of dewy green
Far above the tree line
On mountains peaked
With snow

A marmot comes out
To drink from
Rivulets of a melted
Glacier.

Walkers trek
Up the Alpine
Trails, past the
Lodges.

They passed a country
That belongs to another
World, another century,
Where fairytales were born, to get there.

But the marmot neither knows,
Or cares, as he drinks, drenched
In a dazzling light, Reflected
Off ****** snow.

I saw him as he stood
On a rock, surveying the
Humans nearby,
Striding upwards.

He turned his head
And met my eyes.
Just another human.
He turned away and left.

I stripped off my boots and dipped my feet
In the chilly stream,
Breathed in the startlingly clear air
And waited for him to reappear.

He loves his soca and
His carnival.
He calypsos
Like only Dionysus could.

His power is like the
Nymph's - the Oceanid daughter that
Kept Odysseus from
Penelope - only stronger.

So mesmerising: his smile
Bursts with a contagious
Warmth, like the sun
Over his island homeland.

A gold cross hangs from a chain
Around his dark, dark neck.
The smell of his skin spices the air around him,
Making my mouth salivate.

He tastes like Mayan chocolate;
Slightly bitter and tinged with chilli.
The scars on his shoulders and back
Feel like a ripe nectarine againt my tongue.

I want to bite down and feel the juices
Run.
But.
He's a good Christian boy.

This island boy is an enigma.
Tall and willowy
Like a rapier, and
Strong and beautiful.

I wonder if this island boy
Would sheath his faith
In my worship,
For just one, cool, island night.

Rock: Confused yet strong,
Silent and passionate.
Hard place: Aware yet insecure,
Ambitious and promising.

Trying to be liberated;
Free from the ties of
Family and religion.
Unable to escape.

Planted in faith,
Scorched by doubt.
Pushing deeper to find
Waters of redemption.

Mathew, am I drowning? With
A milstone around my neck?
Falling asleep and drifting
To an eternity of darkness.

Earthly comforts and ambitions,
Desired deeply, and prayed for.
But soft skin calls to me. The strong,
Deep voice calls from straight ahead.

A crossroad. Red light.
Amber soon.
Time to decide.
Before it turns green.

Athiesm and faith.
Ask a priest.
Ask him if they can
Coexist.