Tag Archives: wallowing

Day 09 — underground again + birdiewatching

A simple poem for Day 1 of the Festival of Grief; the second day of my annual wallowversary not till next weekend. Trying to combine my usual subject matter for this day with The Big O. It works okay. My Poetic Factoid has the potential to include words from other languages but I don’t really have the motivation to make it bigger today.

*****

underground again 
spent the day underground again as i do every day since losing you shouting across the river till my voice is hoarse but no one ever comes its against the rules been broken for me once already they cant be broken again no matter how great the agony how much i plead for mercy from the gods for once no creature listens to me the losing is worse than never having had you at all torture to have been so close to sunlight only to see you swirling dissolving disappearing down the sewer i will never sing again






Day 9 – TIL about taking photographs of Victorians















birdiewatching





where we say “cheese”
as a prompt to make us grin 

Victorians said “prunes”
despite preferring to keep things in





i think that explains
just about                  everything

			

	
	



			
				

	

				
Day 20 – pity party (& binge bash)
	


		

		
20 mudwallow_buffalo.jpg


This was actually begun as a poem for someone else … & took a wrong turn along the way, which improved it immeasurably.


*****




wallows



was happily wallowing, wallowing;

in my heart of broken glass pain;

my sad song that never ends;

my woe-is-me tale of eternal misery;

with my wounded soul lying in a cave;

like a hippo in mud;

like the proverbial pig;

like the …

                  when i got to wondering

what other creatures like a good wallow.

a quick interwebbing told me

   elephants & elephant seals

     warthogs & rhinoceroses

        tapirs & bison all do; some deer too.


accidentally learning along the way,

it’s a comfort behaviour, free sunscreen,

insect repellent, wet brush to enhance

moulting & remove parasites; as well as

aids social cohesion & play in young animals.


by which, i’d forgotten my mopery

(though i was a good deal    itchier)




BONUS POEM: April 20, 2018


After a scare with their prepaid Skip the Line tickets I finally saw my mother (Old Ma Jones) & my niece inside, when I thought, WTH I may as join the end of the queue & see how long it actually takes. Seemed a shame to be so close & not even try.




*****




shadowvale


I did not leave

myself all day

lost in the space

I’m always lost in

— from here

I glimpse

things stranger

than I have known

things I could

once have been

were it not

for the shadows

in the vale


20b hyde park.jpg