the sleeper wakes
it is almost
inaudible
drown out
by the drone
of our shopping
channel juicers
the bleat of our trauma
our narcissist blurt
the quiet slaughter
of the fattened poor
*
welcome
to my kingdom
to the fag-end
of its progress
a slow-mo flash-fire
of bubbling tar
consuming the fibres
of jaundiced filters
this autumn air
our breath incendiary
we live off fear
& borrowed hate
*
& nothing
will grow
in the shadow
of our romance
*
way off-camera
beyond the reach
of news cycles
& investigative minds
the death toll is rising
the body count grows
bruised hearts
& airless lungs
clogged arteries
& petrified tongues
passion corroded
empathy eroded
asphyxiated dreams
statistics & lies
& god is dead
the faithful fucked
their currency
devalued or defunct
our father. oh father
grant us each day
our daily pills
our snidey tabs
our red-tops
& the strongest drink
our multipack crisps
our poundshop ket
our smack & crack
our coke & skunk
deliver us our bargain hunt
& the great british bake-off
imprison us with labels
cage us in our minds
we live off fear
& borrowed hate
i will smear my cell
with dogma & lard
unleash a plague
of thankless hope
*
it is almost
inaudible
through the drone
of this chatter
the movement of traffic
the transit of hours
the rumble of hunger
the hiss of the rain
the dirge of defeat’s
monotonous refrain
dürer’s horsemen
braying at the door
the quiet slaughter
of the fattened poor
lots of things which rhyme that i would not take
with me in the event of a planetary evacuation
capitalism / cataclysm /narcissism / catechism / the march of neo-liberalism / the anuretic embolism /the new managerial / anything imperial / confederate flags /louis vuitton bags / received pronunciation / blatant acts of ingratiation / starvation / stagnation / exploitation / alienation / deforestation / non-consensual penetration / vacuous wankers / merchant bankers /homeopaths / psychopaths / intolerance / ignorance / sycophants / fire ants / leopard print nylon underpants / jewellery made from elephants / sebaceous cysts / misogynists / cultural colonialists / predatory recidivists / ukes / nukes / tv cooks / martin amis books /eating disorders / constructed borders / child abuse / the hangman’s noose / the original soundtrack of footloose / poetry’s recourse to the needlessly obtuse / domestic violence / that awkward silence /posh physicians / teenage magicians /endless conversations about yoga positions / inane blogs / yappy dogs / referring to the french as frogs / ads for hot ukrainian brides / unrelenting genocides / murdering bees with pesticides / klu klux klans / obsessions with le creuset pans / royal babies / rabies / quorn /porn / the mediocre / online poker / chicken pox / botox / vox pops/ gm crops / death / bad breath / crystal meth / every tory shibboleth / orange pith /the beauty myth / fracking / hacking / smacking / academies with corporate backing / dementia / involuntary indenture / racial tension / condescension / slaves to convention/ middle class pretension / hipster poseurs / brown nosers / various cancers / politicians’ non-answers / sweat shops /racist cops / bullington club fops/ red tops /chieftain tanks / food-banks / alt right cranks / voluminous yanks / endless war / geordie shore / assassin drones / mobile phones / marble-gobbed sloans / pay day loans / holocaust deniers / bearded messiahs / fake news / high heeled shoes / herpes/ fleas / processed cheese/ unregulated monopolies / extortionate tuition fees / the inhumane treatment of refugees / crippling debt / buy to let / innumerable offensive smells / pharmaceutical cartels / sleeping rough / acting tough / gratuitous swearers / rolex wearers / judgemental starers/ the burden endured by unpaid carers / apartheid regimes/ facebook memes / suburban semis with fake tudor beams / boulevards of broken dreams / bilious spite / the supremacy of white / posturing with military might / rupert murdoch peddling shite / the unfree state / stifled debate / the ugliness of wanton hate / our continued subservience to the notion of fate