etiquette

My mum taught me,
when I was wee,
the rules to please my gran:
“Get your elbows off the table”
“Say ‘please and thank you’ whenever able
And don’t eat with your hands.”
“To ma’am and sir
One should defer
Yes, even sometimes
When they’re wrong.
With family it’s sometimes best
To go along to get along.”
In company, aim for grace,
Be civil and refined.
One should by the gentility
Of their manners be defined.
The etiquette she taught me
has served me very well,
But if you think it doesn’t...
You can fuck off straight to hell.

scrumptious

the moment before
when I see the want
and slowly smile
you lean in
your hand snakes up
to twist
within my tresses
you pull my face
inexorably towards you
is there any desert
more scrumptious

comminute

Revenger’s recipes:

take all your broken pieces
the cracked and frayed edges
and lay them in the mortar
pick up your pestle
comminute your sorrow
from now until tomorrow
then of the flour made
of all the best forgotten yesterdays
bake bread for all your enemies
and hope they choke on it

polyglot

Je t'aime. 

all the words there were and are and will be

Ti amo.

spoke by all the polyglots in unison

the tower of babel fallen and scattered

Jag älskar dig.

the chorus uproarious

are to we two as silent movie reels

Ich liebe dich.

we are as the shimmering of heat rising

words are by you and me unnecessary

and yet, let me say, in every language, in every way

I love you.

litmus test

draw a line
in the sand
and stand behind
a litmus test
a yea or nay
no room to sway
or shades of grey

decoct

were it possible
I would grind you up
break you down
and render out
your essence
decoct an elixir
made up of your
innate joy and
on my lesser days
drink you up

bower

rest ye here awhile

your wearisome journey
through rugged terrain
far from done

so please you, pause
long enough to
restore a sprightly tread
and in this bower
make your bed
of moss and mystery

indulge in an interlude
of well earned tranquility

ere you strap on your satchel
and rise refreshed
to face the world again