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Alan McClure Mar 2016
So aye
We wir watchin
that David Attenborough
or tryin tae -
fower weans tearin up the joint,
an she's like,
See if youse dinny shut it...!
an aw that, ken -
You no gonny tell thum?
So ah'm like,
"Aye.  
Wheesht, youse."

But it wis amazin, like.
These fish.
Years oot at sea.
Tiny wee at first,
dodgin sharks an jellyfish
an aw sorts,
awa oot, miles fae land.
(God!  Youse!  Take it up the stair!
Tell thum, you!

"Aye, boys.  Listen tae yir ma.")

Then wan day, like
they get the urge, ken?
Got tae go.
An in they come,
surgin fae the sea,
these sleek, silver bullets
fat wi feedin.
(I'll no tell yis again!)

Nothin, an ah mean nothing
is gonny stop them.
Waterfalls?  Nae bother.
Just pure hungry
fir the lassies, ken?
The boy Attenborough sais
they dinny even eat!
(That's it!  Ah tellt ye!
Here you!  Take some responsibility,
wull ye?

"Eh?  Oh, aye.
Away tae yir rooms, boys -
yir ma tellt ye.")

These pure ***** divils
will loup up sheer cliffs,
baws burstin, bi the look ay it.
Poetry in motion, ken?
Like, ah dinny ken, pure water
brought tae life, an that.
Jist pure savage.

An then, haw -
they find the lassies!
An it's jist, like,
'splurge'!
Done the deed.
Gemme ower,
job done,
deid.

An there's this shot.
Ripplin shallows,
just fill ay the twitchin bodies.
Craws an bears an that,
queuin up fir the bonanza.
Jist, like,
totally
spent.

An she's aw,
Here, is that no terrible?
Pair buggers!
Eifter aw that!

An ah'm like,
"Aye."

But see inside,
ah'm thinkin,
"Lucky,
lucky *******."
Alan McClure Dec 2016
Whoa.

See that yin?
Jist sittin there?
Ye ken how she’s sittin like that, don’t ye?
Well, whit’s she sittin oan?
Aye, her erse.
She’s only sittin like that
So ye ken she’s got an erse.
Gaggin fir it.

An whoa, check that yin!
Wearin claes!
Filthy cow!
Whit dae ye mean, “Whit dae ah mean”?
Claes!
Ye canny wear claes
If ye huvny got a boady, can ye?
That’s right –
Just screamin it, so she is –
“Check oot ma boady!”

Aye, ah wull an aw!
Don’t mind if ah dae!

Aw, mate – that yin!
That yin ower there!
Bendin her airm!
See her?
Bendin her airm like a mucky ****!
That’s so ye ken
She’s got elbows!
Phwoar, I ken your type hen –
you wi yir elbows an a’thin!
Desperate fur it, aren’t ye?

An man!  This yin,
walkin towards us!
Breathin in an oot!
Whit a slapper!
Breathin in an oot!
Aye, ye need a pair o lungs tae dae that,
I bet, eh, hen?
A pair o fine, functioning lungs!
Aye, you use them, doll –
dinny you be shy!
Ah’m no!

Aw pal, haud me back!
This yin!
This yin eatin a meat pie!
Shameless wee ****!
Aw yeah, baby,
I ken whit that means!
Mean’s ye’ve got yirsel
a **** wee digestive tract in there, no?
Ye dinny hae tae spell it oot tae me, love!
Probably got a pair o kidneys
tucked away in there too,
ye ***** wee *****!

Aw the same, ur they no?
Aw ae thum.
Gantin oan it.
Alan McClure Jan 2011
"Haw!  You!  Come back here!
Dinny walk aff while ah'm talkin ti ye!
Didjiz no ken we won a fight
a mere sivvin hunner year ago?
Are ye no impressed?"

Flower o' ****** Scotland.
Fighting and dying
for a wee bit hill and glen.
When will we see the like?
Every ****** day
an' Ah'm ******* seek o't.

See when we start lovin and livin
fur a wee bit hill and glen?
Then Ah'll get tae ma feet
an sing.
Zita Consani Apr 2012
not so distant dogs bay through streets
an uneasy wind slaps at leaves
and now a wail-whoop of ambulance gloom
loops the dying afternoon
and even in the home
from my room
the dinny grin of television
and banging doors
a dull clang of words
and the beating of my blood
at small impending dooms.
Yet.  
I am held - for all that -
shimmering-still
a castle
in the eye
of storms.
Peace is not a white flag.
its molten gold enfolds
the floundering soul -
enthrones it into
a whole eternity of
untold quiescence.
Impossible mission to escape end of life woe
visit courtesy grim reaper
inevitable for every mortal,
whether he/she alive
yesterday, today or tomorrow
quintessentially senescence tabled
upended wrested status quo
belief, dogma, faith...
(i.e. Unitarian Universalism)
albeit atheistic to the core

mine temporal perspective yes and no
affects how I process death,
afterlife mystery only
googly dead souls know,
yet intimation possibly presage consciousness
prior to corporeal being given heave **
cashing in chips tantamount
to omnipotent deity collecting his/her escrow,
whether thee cremated or buried six feet below.

Our short lived presence upon terrestrial firmae
forces yours truly (me) to reconcile and address
internalized emotions whereby decades elapsed
when sole son (begat between thee and mother)
found irksome offspring regarding shortcomings
triggered hollow ultimatums begetting madness
to flourish toward meek offspring inept at filial

duties, who sought refuge within known solitude
usually finding second born progeny holed up in
his bedroom ofttimes fervently engrossed reading
imaginatively escaping trials and tribulations +
wishing he could magically transform himself
far from irate parents, within their good graces
he fell short short since January 13th MCMLIX.

Methinks ambivalence towards papa
(a nonagenarian widower)
comprising mein kampf
three score plus one year
constituted ineradicable unseen wall,
nevertheless impenetrable as any **** weir

metaphorical barrier laid brick
by figurative brick encompassed unilinear
chronological invisible breastwork did snare
nobody but thyself anomalous to grown man
exhibited effeminate characteristics
as young lad, though not queer,

nor the least bit attuned and/or aware
about ****** orientation,
but simply introverted quite clear
to any casual observer,
a veritable outcast (of Poker Flat), i.e.
cuz I experienced alienation everywhere

at home (then 324 Level Road,
school (Henry Kline Boyer Elementary)
retreated to boyhood bedroom
contrived make believe playmates
courtesy overactive mental cog and gear
named Harny and Dinny never insincere.

Dear papa, your frail physical health disallows
in apropos, callous, and egregious to trot out
vindictive remonstration harkening back days
witnessed by extreme grievances signalling
caustic verbal brickbats lobbed squarely upon
passive progeny unable to attain expectations,
(albeit reasonable), I fell far short (physically

emotionally, and academically) to acquire atta
boy approbation rather constant browbeating
frightened timid lad scared of his own shadow
methinks yours truly shameful embarrassment
whereby failure to accomplish basic income
invariably congenital fait accompli linkedin
with purported schizoid personality disorder.
No matter I kept fingers and toes crossed,
and waited with bated breath since January 2, 2025
even converted from skeptic to orthodox Judaism,
and strictly followed the Torah,
Talmud, and traditional Jewish laws,
and made good on the gamut
of my misdeeds considered a shonda,
nevertheless yours truly
courtesy the powers at large fell,
not slated to win
(til death do me part if lucky),
and thus one mediocre
poet from Perkiomen Valley
reduced to a life of panhandling,
(which required a bit of skill let
said modus operandi,
no more lofty a trade
than being a pickpocket)
essential a nobody, outcast
without a podcast, pariah, et cetera),
who plodded himself
along the boulevard of broken dreams
relegated as an American idiot,
no matter a supposed
hidden potential of smarts
attested to be placed in section 7B1
predicated on his native intelligence,
proved the naysayers right,
when nearly failing every class
while in seventh grade
at Methacton Junior High School,
and in fact got demoted to section 8B3
after getting promoted to eighth grade,
and no matter the learning material more my speed,
I vowed to swear off doing homework
and nearly witnessed
complete and utter failure as fait accompli,
but the fickle finger of fate
decreed the writer of these words
destined to weather freshman peers
(psychologically and metaphorically leagues
ahead of one poor boy figurative lost at sea)
getting promoted despite
unpreparedness and emotional unreadiness
as the winds of fate buffeted one sophomoric lad,
who beat a hasty retreat
to his bedroom at 324 Level Road
when the mental going got rough,
and thence found safety and security
playing with imaginary friends Harney and Dinny 
(themselves doppelgangers of him)
subsequently no strangers to academic rigors,
yet always buckled down when most assignments
completed in a timely fashion,
especially prompt with essay assigned
when Mister Bergey (math teacher)
asked students to write composition
why school books ought to be covered,
and said lorthew got a kick
when mine dealt with keeping property
free and clear of getting peanut butter all over,
and additional relative, innovative,
and creative whimsical humor.

Unsuccessful track record,
and a poor sport to boot
(always the last to be chosen
for team sports at recess),
I felt like just another brick in the wall
and loathed every single solitary day
riding the bus (and getting bullied)
to and from storied halls of learning
sought succor thru flights of fancy
particularly when old enough
to gamble away scant resources
allowing, enabling, and providing
fantasies found me to gambol
with illusions of grandeur
where becoming the recipient
of a truckload of monetary largesse,
hence frivolously purchasing lottery tickets
particular penchant prevalent after experiencing
a financial fiasco after getting fleeced
by godless enterprising con artists.

I frequently counted my chickens before they hatch
particularly after purchasing
PowerBall or Mega Million tickets,
which randomly drawn numbers never match
after one of two main types
of lottery-drawing machines applied,
either the former air mix machine
or the latter gravity pick machine:
Now the air mix one
blows numbered ping-pong *****
around in a chamber,
where numbers randomly selected
when they get ******
out of the chamber and displayed.

— The End —