White Dove

The white dove glides above the lawn
a beautiful sight in the early morn;
I watch with envy each move so free
and wish that beautiful dove was me.

Oh, how I wish that I too could fly
up and away in the clear blue sky;
governed by my most basic needs
and free of man’s hates, lusts and greeds.

I’d spread my wings, I’d rise and soar
never to be bound to the earth anymore;
I’d fly with the wind and hide from the rain
and once it was sunny I’d fly on again.

Oh, beautiful white dove, lovely and free,
I’ve wished and wished like you to be;
but no matter how hard I might try
unlike you, white dove, I can't fly.

  

(All rights reserved.)

The Vicar’s Wife

Dignified funeral,
a massive affair —
all the church members
dressed in the blackest

black or the darkest grey.
Sombre mood — much as martha,
the vicar’s wife, had exhibited
since the vicar’s passing. Living

in a cottage behind the old mill,
spending her days doing good works,
still receiving parishioners as though
nothing had ever changed.

At the ‘right’ time, the womens
guild moved quietly through the
small home, ooh-ing and aah-ing
about martha’s high standards as they

savoured the smell of furniture polish
that reflected loving care on every surface.
Methodically the ladies sorted martha’s
possessions into piles. Charity, garbage,

martha’s friends, ‘don’t know’, donations.
Within a few hours they arrived in the only
bedroom and boxes slowly filled as the
remnants of a pure life were examined.

susan gibbons gleefully lowered the box
from the back of the top shelf, ‘martha’s toys’
scribbled on the side in bold black ink. She
opened it with a smile of anticipation

before dropping it, squealing in sheer
horror. Or was it delight? annie o’reilly,
spinster, fainted as a massive, rigid,
plastic penis rolled towards her feet.

Soon the entire town knew that whilst martha's
days were spent in service her nights were
spent in self-pleasure. What happened to
her sex toys? The womens guild took them...

 

(All rights reserved.)

Fringe Benefits

Titan Tom

did them all

before lunch

the aunt

the half sister

the stepmother

individually and

then as a group

he went home

exhausted

the sight, the smell,

the sound of her

washed over him

how was the shoot?

it was all good

i’m just fucked

can you manage just

once more for me?

breathlessly against his lips

always babe always

Mark, aka Titan Tom,

followed his wife

to their bedroom

where there wasn’t

unrelenting pressure

to perform

where there weren’t

any cameras

or lights

or crew

only

two people

in love

plus a gross or two

of work issued

condoms

(All rights reserved.)

Alice D

Black snake
heaved
breathed
slithered
while he straddled it's
speckled spine. Then,

rearing, it's eyes
blinded his
with piercing noon sunlight.

Tortured metal
screeched
sheered
dismembered
as he drove head-on
into the eighteen wheeler

end of trip

 

(All rights reserved.)

Necklaces

crime begets crime

inhumanity
seethes
towards
hapless
victim

petty theft

begets
stoning
begets
forced
petroleum
ingestion
begets
confinement
within
rubberised
tread
begets
ignition
of flaming
anger
begets
seething
mass
begets
inhumanity
pointing
laughing
dancing
encircling

petty thief
roasted
alive

 

(All rights reserved.)

Born in the Purple

conjugal rights,

the great leveller,

negated when

purple-robed prince

swore allegiance

to his wife

and queen who,

resplendent in the

Robe of Purple Velvet,

forevermore  walks

t

   w

       o

            paces

                 ahead
of him.

(All rights reserved.)



 

Old African Elephant

vultures

hover

circle

hover

assessing

life span of

breathless

bull elephant

clinging to

tenuous life

release

looms

closer

closer

distressed

hyenas

giggle

nervously

as matriarchal

herds approach,

close ranks,

protectively

shielding

proud old bull

vultures

hover

hyenas

giggle

(All rights reserved.)



Metaphor written, with love and respect, about Dr Nelson Mandela - Madiba - when the media camped outside Milpark Hospital after he was admitted during the week of 28 January 2011.  Viva Madiba Viva.

In African fables the elephant is always the wise chief who impartially settles disputes among the forest creatures....  In the African fables, the elephant is usually described as too kind and noble, so that he feels pity even for a wicked character ...The Ashanti of Ghana relate that an elephant is a human chief from the past. When they find a dead elephant in the forest, they give him a proper chief's burial....

http://www.a-gallery.de/docs/mythology.htm

Hyena giggle:  The giggle is a high pitch, staccato sound that is not communicating a good time. In fact, it is commonly produced by distressed, or submissive, animals in situations where they are both excited and conflicted between approaching and leaving the situation. For example, giggles are made by submissive individuals at a kill waiting their turn while being chased away by higher ranking animals. http://www.acoustics.org/press/155th/theunissen.htm