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#FiveTwitterPoems | BLOODY DARLINGS
1.
NO SHARP INTAKE
Death does not
come knocking
of a sudden
when you’re old
It hangs around
the sterile bed
waiting to slip
a little of itself
into every breath
until you are full
so full of death
that you dare
breathe no more
-------------------------------
2.
WRONG BUS
Small bird, shrivelled
feathers gone, skin 'n' bone
Your bedsores are killing you!
Eyelids flutter, focus blazing:
“This is what you get, Rich!
This is what happens
when you're 60!”
She's on the wrong bus.
So I tell her: “You're 86, love, 86.”
I leave the number
hanging in the air
Her eyes widen:
“Am I 86, Rich?
I'm 86, Rich! 86!”
Realisation dawns
blinding the driver
See me hop off the bus
at the edge of the cliff
-------------------------------
3.
LET ME STROKE YOUR GRIEF
The little pleasures
depth of warm flesh
small words and token
singing gestures
a chorus of highlights
bright things trickling
laughter gurgling thick
leaning in for secrets
let me hold the door
wait stroking your grief
give it back when you’re ready
to be carried home
-------------------------------
4.
FOREVER LOST
some random thoughts
about seeking and finding
crossed my mind tonight
on a quest together
exploring my acre
of cerebral jungle
this poorly mapped
terra cognita where
voyage and discovery
are travelling companions
and sometimes lovers
when they’re in the mood
-------------------------------
5.
BLOODY DARLINGS
This morning I killed three darlings
then scraped, scrubbed and polished
away all evidence of their presence
As I washed off the blood
sweat and tears of wasted hours
I saw them briefly as spirits
brashly raised in a séance
before I washed them out
like babies with the bathwater
