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I have forgotten who I am.

  My shoes are not where I left them. There is a dog howling in the distance, And the sound reverberates, Lifting the dew off the dense canopy of trees outside. The bamboo lamp beside the sofa, Sheds dull orange light across the Persian carpet, And I am not casting a shadow. I have, A […]




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There must be an Angel

There must be an angel looking over your shoulder. There must be, even if you Never see her, An Angel. There are creatures on other, Worlds, That look like us but, For the clothing they wear; …delicate, gauze-like materials, that blaze… …yet do no harm. One visited last night, pointing out my story, -where I […]




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The tyranny of doubt

When you are born, You know that you are, Here to change the world, And it is good, And it’s alright, To do your best. Then, You’re checking the curtains, Just in case, You run out of sunshine. -evocative short poetry-




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Insurrection

I have always liked, Defiant Africans, Nelson, Patrice, Kenyatta, Martin Luther King, Groovy black men, Niggers with attitude, But they intimidate me, Black men. Freedom fighters, Bar room brawlers, And I rise from sleep, Sheened in sweat, Running away, Scribbling my number, On scraps of paper, On foreheads and trousers, On outstretched palms, And I’m […]




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Serial killer

I squashed a cockroach the other day. A big, Fat, Cockroach. It was trying to get away and I squashed it. Not that I had anything against that, Particular cockroach but, I was bare-foot. I had tea, And biscuits, And was bare-foot when he made his dash across the corridor. It took some time to […]




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On dodging bullets

A glance at the rear-view mirror, And you’re in the hands of a driver who’s chewing grass and, Kneading her weave. You are left of a drunk who’s just exclaimed, “…we’re moving too fast!” Survival can be glamorous. You imagine you see, That you can dodge bullets, And retain bouncy hair, That keratin replenishers really […]




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Red Ink

I. We used to receive, in West Germany, handwritten letters from friends in Soviet Russia. Mail was read by censors so we established a code; If written in blue ink, True, If red, False. Letters would arrive, All written in blue; Everything wonderful, stores full of food, Apartments large, weather is good. We just cannot […]




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I wish we had played on all night

I wish we had played on all night, African cowboys with not much, Else to do, I wish we had challenged the fish in the sea and, Called out to the Bison, My father and his band, And his -strike while the iron is hot- Jive, Johnstone, his brother, On the drums, Kicking up a […]




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Mothership

You have to wake up Democratic or not Atheist or deciding Male or female You have to wake up. You must. By force. No, this is not a question of belief No, not one of freedom You are free. You have to wake up until You die. -evocative short poetry- Picture: Mondolithic Studios




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Praise

Praised by a drunkard, Just when my craving for respect, From Oprah, Obama or The Queen, Seemed to be all the appreciation I needed, She, Walked in, Demanding demurely, hand Held out, just Two sticks. Her praise almost made me cry – she was so dignified tight dress not too tight, just so – Fabulous […]




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They will stone you in God’s name

It’s a revolt. A revolution. And in the name of God, they are building schools, Delivering doctors, door to door. They are conveying the message that people care, And that no one is forgotten but, Cameras are not allowed in some places. People hoist burning American Flags, Which melt and spit plastic, Scarring children with […]




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I will come

“…and, I will come amongst you, Cloaked in the rags of the sinner; Thus shall ye all be judged.” Painting: Vincent-Patricia Watwood -evocative short poetry-




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Meditation

Tie the thread to the farmer! Marry the Bride to the Groom! Arrange a wedding for five billion people, We are approaching the end! Road rage is the immediate, And sudden reconfiguration of, A prior expectation and we are doing well, The old lady, the Guru and I, We are making effort. It is, In […]




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Walking with butterflies

She shifts with the breeze, Neon white with blue streaks, Antenna filtering the air for blossoms, Fabulous, Owning the street, Owning the couple, At sunset before, The African roundabout, A butterfly that will not let go, Wafting beyond reach, Before the hawk and Gently anyway – Ever been a glass-wearer looking for your glasses with, […]




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The sound of an African funeral

They sing for him, Swinging from heel to frail heel, Growing earth between the ground and, his casket, Bleeding love into the air Like orchids, Humming, They rise again And again their gently swaying busts, Move the air to and fro, To and fro, Intending that mother be comforted, Intending that her wet eyes, Smile […]




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Vanquished

  Aliens have been vanquished before. Dolphins, Whales, Elephants, Orchids all, Intelligent, Cannot look after Earth, May have seen the end coming, not Had the means to pollinate, Thought life, Conscious, must Be responsible, For life, have Missed the archer, Choosing the trajectory, Been the arrow, Aliens, Forgetting that food Chains, Are best when, Dolphins, […]




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Closet

Quantum physics dictates that Looked at directly matter will disappear. Big physics says that electrons can be bound, Entangled, still Unified theory does not allow multiple existences. These are matters of the heart; Sometimes looking at love directly can destroy it, And we don’t want lovers disappearing, To burnt, brawny, Ulaanbaatar without us, we Want […]




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Hanging out with my father, and my brother and sister

  So I thought about my brother and sister a lot this weekend. It’s not like me at all. You don’t count on people just, sort of vanishing. I’ve been talking about death since I was born, so with my Dad it was kinda different. I knew he was dying. It was strange. We both […]




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Touch-screen

He kills, While we are touching everything else, Touch-screens everywhere, Apparently God kills, In Catholic Garb, Violet, In Coptic yellow, in Jewish robes, God kills surreptitiously, At sunset, On bridges, through Garrulous Muslims, It is a mistake to believe that the only touch-screen around, Is email. God is a touch-screen. We do not remember friends, […]




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We don’t dance anymore

We don’t dance anymore, And it happened so quickly. We sold our souls on the galactic market, For peanuts. The Earth recovered though, its Nature. We sold everything to be together, We did, and Life happened. This far down the line, we’re all that’s left and You still are, The most beautiful thing about me. […]




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Fine Dining

  Do chickens hold their food in their feet while they are eating? Some birds actually do, The Ornithologists have declared, Actually hold their food in their feet whilst they are dining, Fine dining, Eat with their hands, Astonishingly, As do a vast array of mammals.   ♦photo♦ Jason Reed for Reuters -evocative short poetry-




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Office Lover

  Dreaming of; Colorful balloons on an African plain, Hot air rising, with Rich people making eye contact, Heaving brandy glasses at the bar by the salt-lick lake, Making new friends with, Levitating boobs or Buoyant balls, Out on the reef, whilst; Putting out lurid spread-sheets, At the office photocopier, With Sam, And his dark […]




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Choose

Bombing everything, You prevaricate, Humans in an upside-down chandelier, Prevaricating, Pompous, Unable, Hot air rising will cool. Cold air, Kelvin Is frozen solid so, Focus. Save a butterfly. Choose. ♦Photo♦ – ThingLink short, evocative, poetry




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After

We spend our days, Getting ready for tomorrow, Hoping the past will not catch us, The bad eating, the saccharin juices, when Now is the only moment, to Love, to Speak, Re-pack your life, forgive – Go, On an adventure or, Simply state your piece, It will be alright. We may yet, Save the climate. […]




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Pansies, Holly and Twinkly lights

The brown bee, Big as a bear, That visits my Polyandra, Flies meticulous patterns around morning blooms Dispersing pollen, As easily as the hummingbird next to it, Serenades hibiscus. We spend time collecting memories and ornaments like, Christmas bulbs have no lifetime, We miss Pansy’s and Holly’s and Twinkly lights, At Sundown, When closets shut, […]




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Refugees

If we are to be Gods we must, Musk, Be life forms using noses and spectrograms, Be blue animals, Hurtling through space, dentists Doxologists, Cobblers mending hard drives, Therapists, Slippers, Saving the world, Changing the climate, Becoming responsible politicians, Setting safe harbour as we go. -short evocative poetry-




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Hostage

Promises are made to be broken, Thwarted, Made again, Whilst Jasmine pours, Perfume; Where God, Is an impression, a Figment, Asking why, if Birds and fish and, Creatures of all kinds, Flourish, You terrorize one other? Impossible, Even at a crimson sunset, to Say sorry first, Survive polluting Earth? Picture – ♦Reuters/Daily Mail♦ -short evocative […]




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Street-walker

It is raining outside. I am reminded that, Rain has rhythm. Rhythm has heart-beat, A beat, a Rat-a-tat-tat, Every city has its gangsters, its’ Street corners, its Unbelievers, every Heart has its beat, and Every beating heart, its’ God, Where folly is a pink bear, An African American, A bionic car round the bend, Sunlight […]




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Tamborine

    They shot the cheese cake. High heels, Eye-liner, Battle-ship, Village people, Purple tortoise Yelling, The light of day, Grey, The road, Dim, Muddy, Single lane, Wet, Pools reflecting torch-light, Forest in sillouette, Trees in moonlight, Going home now, Finished now, Homeward bound.    




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China is not a free market economy or, On Welding

I would have to have eight hundred haircuts, To, Buy the ‘Professionals hair-cutter’ electric clippers I, Saw on offer, at the shop window whilst having a pee, and Trying to hit the resting mosquito on the wall, With my urine, -stream of thought- When, I noticed the incessant sound of welding, Work-shop beside the loo, […]




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The Barber Shop

Kiswahili in Brooklyn, Mercedes outside, and I’m falling in love with my country. Seven days he works. Day’s off, he says Entrepreneur, he plays Doing what he can to cut hair well and, Provide a space For the rich and poor, The men and women, Who do their hair and freely discuss, Their politics in […]




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Jacob and his Angel

It is patience that destroyed Adam and Eve, Not the hooded serpent, With beady eyes, Not the salacious Jezebel, Hiding her fanny, Not the woman, The patience, You see, The knowing without power, The waiting for death and its meager offerings, You’ve got to face the day, come what may Your smiling face will see […]




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The smell of new curtains

​ It came from the right side like God, or a deer, a Migraine warning; Chemotherapy strikes at any time. Where am I going wrong? Under community skies and red roofed buildings, immaculate And unfinished, Holding on for next week’s rent, Even if you were alive, I’d not have listened, Missing a father to say […]




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Midnight Gardener

I hear God in cushion prints, Leopard pants, Ancestors, We Forget; What if it took place at midnight, would you Stack hay and win, Chicago with the broad shoulders, Hunt mosquitos, Midnight lover, the Ebullient wrestler in a, Pink Venetian mask, Would you, Be a brute, Pretending the contender was not God, Brisk breeze, Be […]




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Pain relief

​ Builders will continue to build, and White folk dumpster dive,  In the winter anyway, In red, And blue overalls, scavenge – Scavenger, Some for profit, others fun, and I Cannot be a predator, I Cannot carry luggage, I Am dying, and Perhaps giving things away, a book or something will relive the pain, lord […]




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Refugee

Smelly in the corner, On a black, Leather sofa, We speak he and I with oiled bodies, we Recline at will, With silver-lined laptops, With morning beer in, Plastic cups, ice-cream Tins, we Touch minds gently across thrusting porn-stars, He and I, and we We will make it happen, Perhaps, Emigrate, Fiddle with love beyond […]




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Dying is the first race

Never mind Lawyers, Children with no mouths, Never mind Inspiration, Write Now. Photo – ♦Personal♦ -short evocative poetry-




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Living on a prayer

You punish me for telling you my fantasy, At night I lock the door so no one else can see, Refrain, Come Oberon! Able only to gasp at the splendor of the sun! Photo – ♦Natsumi Hayashi♦ -evocative short poetry-




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On gender based toiletry

Attack your assailant with the baguette, You are carrying in your hand. Soft weapon. Transgender toilet, Beat the crap out of the hoodlum, male Or female, Black or white, think Not you must explain, Why, during the attack Men should not wear, Flaming pink knickers, demand The sex of the person approaching, On the dark […]




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Editing the bible

  We’ve all seen them, Womens circle knitting on, Saturday, Mens having breakfast to learn, How to lead, Ever been inside a church, I mean inside? You know the ones; Don’t Talk on the phone when you’re, Writing notes, Don’t come in late when Next door, Looking over the shoulder of The fat woman in […]




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The Painting with the smudge

I remember her detail, How she looked, how she talked to her husband, I just stood on the pavement and cried, I’ll Never see her again, not here, That’s it. Whatever came, came for a moment and then left, we were Going to live forever. I don’t get in touch with anyone anymore, It scares […]




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Living on a prayer

You punish me for telling you my fantasy, At night I lock the door so no one else can see, Watch while the queen, In one false move, Turns herself into a pawn, It’s like- Drinking gasoline to quench your thirst until there’s nothing there left at all, I Went to the doctor I, Went […]




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Dicks in Space Suits

Dead beetles die in their skins, and Seychellois, Mauritanians, Maurtians, Martians, Fighting with sun-tans all, and Bad lip jobs, In Nairobi, Silent giraffes grope for love, God, Tends to antelopes, The world ends In a traffic jam or, Dicks in space-suits building railways​ through the heart of a city. ♦Photo♦ Friends of Nairobi National Park -short evocative […]




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The ladder of life

I don’t have friends, I do not think. Friends get married, and Drive bigger cars and, Have more intelligent things to talk about, better Places to go, are Becoming lawyers and doctors and ministers, Big people, and It sort of interrupts things. ♦photos♦ Jacob’s Ladder -short evocative poetry-




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I lost my shoes in India

  sweets on a plate empty tuperware lens cleaner is, What we took to bed. Red he says, but he’s deaf, With earphones on, Police frames and Louis Vuittion, Cardboard handbags, And perfect lips, Peach by the way, like I said, I Lost my shoes in India and the Geisha wasn’t real.   ♦photo♦ – Hyunception: Movie […]




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Counting Lovers

Cheese occurs at night, Counting lovers, Gerald Jason, Daniel, Some guy at the Holiday Inn, Leonard, Han, Rolf, Keshavjii, Simon, Like that, they Say a healthy lifetime has ten to twenty, Lovers. ♦Photo – Self♦ -short evocative poetry-




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“Black Boys on Mopeds”

“Black Boys On Mopeds” Margaret Thatcher on TV Shocked by the deaths that took place in Beijing It seems strange that she should be offended The same orders are given by her I’ve said this before now You said I was childish and you’ll say it now “Remember what I told you If they hated […]




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Dreamers

I do not have dreams that I remember but this is the war; That I was at Queen Mary’s trying to make up, For slipping, -skipping school- And now the scent is after me, evil Plastic lips and yellow handbags, After my own whiteness, Pure white, like Extra-pure, like Black is dirty, or something And […]




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Happiness

Microsoft, Houston, Com Check, Com Check! Challenger and Columbia, are One and the same thing, People died on the way up and on the down opening Space, So do not blame America. Be better. -picture- shortpoetry.wordpress.com– -short evocative poetry-




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A long journey home

I am not poor. I am not weighed down. I am not ugly, fat, inadequate. Not good enough, not pure enough, not strong enough. I am rich. I am free. I am free. ♦Photo – Persian Blog, Omid♦ -short, evocative poetry-