Owen Bullock



the white page

the white page curls round an ankle
has hold

a tome strikes your mind
dazes

the weather
is inclement

you cut off your ankle
and your head

and stumble out
into the storm



Surdity

I ride an igloo to work
a bell chimes, and the Zen priest
holds a typewriter for the monkey
to type his request
to join a reality TV show

where Susan Boyle takes on Wayne Rooney at darts
and Ollie Murrs keeps score
with help from Roger Federer
who’s distracted by an old man’s dentures
that have fallen from a bar stool

the monkey’s job is to get the teeth back in
before the old man starts a singalong
out of time, on shaky feet

Wayne pins his boot to the floor
with a great dart, Susan hums the kazoo solo
Roger applauds the efforts of all
and Ollie pinches the igloo parked outside

for once, the Zen priest doesn’t get the joke
and rues the demise of the last company on earth
to make type-writer ribbons

the monkey never leaves the tribal council



from this lark

an email from the day world
comes into the night:
“Did you learn how to open your chakras
in school or college?”

check publications
read the generous report,
the uncertainties
of someone else’s journal,
a funny story
on the mentor’s blog

make a submission at 3 a.m.
the editor in North America won’t say
you’re up at strange hours

check Daily Affirmations
“The more I take care of myself
the more prosperous I am.” *

check bank account
pay’s gone in

outside: birdsong
moon, morning star, sunrise

horses galloping
lengths in the paddock

                              * Cheryl Richardson, at Healyourlife.com



Owen Bullock’s recent poetry has appeared in Poetry NZ, JAAM, Debris, Deep South, Rabbit, Cordite, Orbis and The Cornish Banner.
 
 
previous page     contents     next page