Five Poems

Hi, folks! Okay, so I realised recently that it’s been a while since I shared any of my poetry on here and so I thought it was about time for me to fix that. There’s no theme to any of these poems, mind – they’re just a couple of random ones from my notebook that aren’t too shabby. They won’t necessarily appear in an upcoming collection, but they’re fun in their own little way. I hope you enjoy them!

 

I’m Not Going to be a Rockstar

I’ve come to finally realise

I’m not going to be

a rockstar.

 

I mean,

I can’t sing

without drinking

but when I drink

my chords get clumsy

and I start to drop

my plectrums.

 

Don’t get me wrong,

I love making music

but I don’t think I’ll make

a career of it,

I mean

I’m technically unproficient

and I wouldn’t

make the cut

as a session musician.

 

Still,

at least I have

a backup plan,

I can write

my words

as a session musician.

 

Still,

at least I have

a backup plan,

I can write

my words

with a hangover.

 

I might not be a rockstar

but words make the world move

up and down and round and round

and my head is spinning silently

and I might not be a bestseller

but I can offset the costs

with my royalty checks

if only a little bit.

 

And I can pay my rent

with the work I love.

 

Perfect

You know

you don’t have to be perfect

all of the time

and out of the box,

you know

you can make mistakes

and then shrug your shoulders.

 

Chances are

no one even notices

because you know we are

the primary protagonists

in the stories we tell

about ourselves,

and no one cares

unless you have something

to give to them.

 

Life

can be a vulture

pecking the flesh

off the bones

of its enemies.

 

Still,

Death

can be an asshole

and when you spit

in his face,

you might just

find yourself

running.

 

All I want to know

is when the bar opens.

 

And when the bar

closes.

 

And lowers.

 

Stretch Yourself

Don’t stretch yourself thin,

stretch yourself long

and wide

like a line

of lighthouses,

be the band aid

a mother applies

to her daughter’s knee

when she falls down

climbing trees

or racing on a skateboard

because little girls

are the future,

their potential

full of momentum

and the only people

against equality

are the people who know

it threatens them.

 

Staying Up All Night

Still staying up

all night I see,

it’s the best time

to write

when there’s no one

around you.

 

Sometimes I just need

some tasty vitamins,

or maybe I’m losing

my mind again.

 

It reminds me

of a book I read

by Irvine Welsh

where a man

had a tapeworm

and it thought for him.

 

My stomach

rules my emotions

and tries its best

to derail me,

so this one

is for the soldiers

whose bodies

declare war on them

when their skin swells up

and they hyperventilate.

 

Sometimes

we just need

rest.

 

Rest

is all

we need.

 

Falcon Heavy

Take off and land

the good ship

Falcon Heavy,

launching itself

up up and away

into the atmosphere,

another little piece

of history.

 

Who needs

the work

of David Bowie?

He’s out there

himself

amongst the stars.

 

He’s up high

in the sky

in the light,

a symbol

of the future

just as subtle

as a freight train

at the end of

a tunnel.

 

I think

it might be

beautiful.