These poems are a selection from the forthcoming Gum Tree Burning (July 2019). Collages also by Joe.
Upset Letterbox
Oh dear, you already know what
I’m going to say
Don’t you?
Well
Let me surprise you
We letterboxes like to watch the street
We are highly status conscious
Identity politics is our game
Wifi is such a smart arse
Unbelievably expensive
Data whore
Time vampire
Tart
Oh well, just venting
We both have a place
For evermore
My life has changed
I accept that now
A museum on a stick
That’s me.
Hunter
Robert moved with surety
Like a surfer
Kind and big shouldered
Never seen painting
Guided by a spirit
Grey on white
White on white
Dark grey with coloured thread
A chess board style
That took the wall
For granted
Somewhere between ideas and ends
Tall buildings and flat streets
The conceptual code
Truth in form
Truth too in sheer surfaces
Forcing reflection
From a man with a shy smile
Rich minimalism
Not despairing
A prayer in paint
A deep mental pool for you to view
We seek contemporary art
Seeking sensation
A sport he did not play
With his wind cheater and Volkswagen
Crew cut and near death scar
Pure thought
Proportion crossed by edged line
Creating non-natural beauty
Beyond trees
Manhattan streets giving us a pattern
Civilisation’s marker
Now over the horizon
Vale Robert.
Knitting
Knitting
Like poetry
Requires
Selection of wool
Purpose
A wearer
Pattern
Style and choice
Time
Two hands or a machine
A modest budget
A good mood
Some conception of space
A bit of correction
Attention to joins
Experience
A grateful wearer
Careful washing
Timely affection
Folding
Matching with things
Cooler weather
Love.