Tag: #glasgow

cancelled train gives me a wobble

cancelled train
gives me a wobble
deep breath
i can reconnect
at carlisle
have pea pasta
and prosecco for lunch
see two good horses
and an orange digger
rails of rust
duck egg screen
pink and neutrals
in fluff
and all the greens
you could eat in a lifetime
on the great western line

i don’t usually carry a sunflower lanyard (hidden disabilities thing) for my autism. unless i’m travelling, especially by myself, when the slightest thing going wrong sends me into a mad panic. actually, everything sends me into a panic. maybe i should always wear it. anyway the train was cancelled and i was like maybe i should just go back home. maybe this trip isn’t for me. but anyway, i panicked a bit then just got a different train and it was fine.

wales iv

read a book to ariana
mostly seems to bore her
well she asked for it
then the last supper
aubergine, cheese and garlic
you drive me home
i’m a good passenger you say
i’m infinitely patient and never complain
but pray silently as we speed towards the
slowing car ahead
and i feel weirdly safe with you
we drop the car off at the airport
and run back to town
like normal people do
or maybe only we do
both bridges are out
and the ferry closed down
so i take the subway home from govan
as do you
in the other direction

i am moving in with my girlfriend at the weekend. no longer will we be in directional disagreement at the end of a holiday. we shall just go to the same place. perhaps other aspects of life will also be improved. i expect so.

wales iii

swings and roundabouts
like a crash test dummy
humming a christmas song
i guess i feel like i’m one of the uncles
from home alone
all our kisses are stolen
kids voices climb the stairs
white hairs in my moustache
catch the light in the morning mirror
visit the folly hotel of portmeirion
lily pads and various trees
a beach that doesn’t reach the sea
sleep in and miss the hike
overdosed on the house party life

portmeirion is a weird place. i got an ice cream. looked at the vast beach. thought about cockle related tragedies. in a way, every cockle collected is a small tragedy. for the delicious cockle.

wales i

the principality of wales was formed
when the warring territories of
upper wale and lower wale
were conquered by invading sea mammals
who imposed order
then retreated to the sea,
leaving wales
as one of the few
truly plural countries
available for rule
by english land mammals
and a bucolic spot for a holiday.

i went to wales on holiday with my girlfriend’s family and i wrote nonsense poetry and i had a great time. even when my girlfriend made me run a half marathon off-road at tempo. then make dinner for her entire family from the ottolenghi cookbook. happy memories.

dog tricks of the long distance runner

on a 30 kilometre run,
in my 20th season
after a thousand hours running,
i suddenly reason
my cap slides
into my waistband,
bends round the hip
and the inbuilt pants
mean it won’t slip.

i’m not sure what to say about this other than – if you run – and you are my size and shape – and you have the sort of shorts that have underwear built in – then if you are ever not sure whether to wear a baseball cap on your run or not, you should just wear it because if your head gets too warm you can slide the hat into your shorts. or you could just hold it in your hand. or put it in the bin or give it away, i suppose.

forced to say ta-dah at hot yoga, humiliating, and chorus

come on, bon bon;
she literally dumped me
yoga ta-da,
run home wet,
get a pineapple at the tesco
turn it up turn it up turn it up,
this is techno

this is the trilogy of four to the floor
the thump sets the beat
and the dog whistle the tone
kick drum kick
in your headphones in your home
the technofuture is ours alone

walking home from the pub one night listening to the rest is politics podcast i had an idea for a new political party. the party will be called the new conservatives we will describe ourselves as a socially liberal version of conservatives: a centre-right economic position, a belief that government social morality should be progressive but also always lag a tad behind broader society, et cetera.

but actually the politics will all be really left-wing – we will nationalise public services and raise taxes on the rich and stuff like that. when challenged we will simply refer to the post-war consensus that existed until 1979. and we will accuse our opponents of being communists regardless of the form of challenge. thank you for your attention to this matter.

a sunny weekend in greater st albans

backpack to london
for the downtown fun run
ladybirds, butterflies,
apple trees
and sofas in the sun
through the field of wheat
like a young theresa may
teal dragonfly perched
on a vibrant green
leaf above a rust bed stream
we wade with baggy minnows
by the weeping willow
clock two foxes,
attempt avuncular football
scorched between the bridges
peddle assisted
to the bucket hat photobomb
goosebumps on
the cold carriage home

this was a lovely holiday. it was sunny. saw friends. family. wildlife. waded in a stream. it was very cold on the train home though.

the heel of the boot iv

toggle be,
the jazziest beaver
i am untartened,
a border reiver
amaro montenegro,
an iron brew
why am i feart
of mosquitos
i’ve already been
bit like 40 goes
got one back
like cracking
human blood goo
from a winged black egg

my girlfriend likes to wear neck scarfs, so i got her a toggle, a bit like i used to have when i was in cubs. i left long before i got to scouts, where i would have been outed re my lack of a clan tartan, being a border reiver by birth. for long us benns have walked in the wilderness, reading aloud our poetry, making love under the king’s moon on english wildflower meadows, and pinching livestock. always getting bit by insects.

the heel of the boot iii

morning lag,
saddle bag snag
locked up rear
momentary fear
east is beast
west for rest
the church by the wine bar
they ring the bells
to summon up
the ghosts from hell
until they have
a quorum
to discuss matters
ecclesial
in their
worthy forum
there was
anarchic popelessness,
the vatican
was hopeless with
erratic sin
and soulless stress
you understand
the mess we’re in!

we had some funny luck with our bikes on the holiday. the crank arm was threaded and the pedal fell off. we got a different bike. and we had a little difficulty with balancing above, rather than on, the tarmac. the saddle bag strap on my bike snapped and the bag fell into the wheel and the strap got stuck in the brake caliper. although the first i knew of it was a noise and the wheel locking up. quite scary but kept it upright.