Tuesday Poem: Above Armageddon by Tim Jones
From the mezzanine, Armageddon Sci-Fi convention, Wellington, 2008
In my day
there was less money to be parted from.
Now this whole place
is a trading floor,
awash in cash, cleavage,
cosplay and testosterone.
*
Jesus, cross in hand,
blessed the sellers of Devil’s Dice.
Japanese Death in a long white wig,
totes his scythe past stands of PS3s.
John Rhys Davies’ booming voice
echoes from a distant room.
*
The reef fish of the market
swim before my eyes.
My son goes darting
among the channelled shoals.
Where will all this money
wash up, do you think, in the end?
© Tim Jones,
Men Briefly Explained, Interactive Press, 2011
Tim lives in New Zealand, writes both prose and poetry in the 'Speculative Poetry and Fiction' categories and has had a great deal of success with both. This poem is more personal. I love the description of a visit to a Sci-Fi convention with his young son. It's very understated - when Tim mentions 'reef fish' I immediately think of sharks, swarming around to part the young and enthusiastic from their money. And we all know where it will 'wash up in the end'.
Men Briefly Explained has been one of my favourite collections, so I was very happy to write some blurb for the cover when it was published in 2011.
"Tim Jones writes about how it feels to be a man, of male relationships - father, son, brother, friend, lover, husband - exploring territory that men traditionally don't talk about, saying what is often unsaid, confronting stereotypes, and genetic imperatives. He writes with a blend of economy, humour and compassion that is rare in poetry, often finding the unexpected phrase or an unusual, but exact, image to surprise and illuminate. This poetry is how New Women want their New Men to be - strong, sensitive and empathetic!"
More recently Tim has edited 'Stars Like Sand' a collection of Australian Speculative Poetry with PS Cottier, and has just published a novella called 'Landfall' with Paper Road Press, also available as an e-book from Amazon.
Tim has an excellent Blog at Books in the Trees.
The Tuesday Poets are an international group who try to post a poem every Tuesday and take it in turns to edit the main hub. If you'd like to see what the others are posting today, please click on this link to visit the Tuesday Poem site.
In my day
there was less money to be parted from.
Now this whole place
is a trading floor,
awash in cash, cleavage,
cosplay and testosterone.
*
Jesus, cross in hand,
blessed the sellers of Devil’s Dice.
Japanese Death in a long white wig,
totes his scythe past stands of PS3s.
John Rhys Davies’ booming voice
echoes from a distant room.
*
The reef fish of the market
swim before my eyes.
My son goes darting
among the channelled shoals.
Where will all this money
wash up, do you think, in the end?
© Tim Jones,
Men Briefly Explained, Interactive Press, 2011
Tim lives in New Zealand, writes both prose and poetry in the 'Speculative Poetry and Fiction' categories and has had a great deal of success with both. This poem is more personal. I love the description of a visit to a Sci-Fi convention with his young son. It's very understated - when Tim mentions 'reef fish' I immediately think of sharks, swarming around to part the young and enthusiastic from their money. And we all know where it will 'wash up in the end'.
Men Briefly Explained has been one of my favourite collections, so I was very happy to write some blurb for the cover when it was published in 2011.
"Tim Jones writes about how it feels to be a man, of male relationships - father, son, brother, friend, lover, husband - exploring territory that men traditionally don't talk about, saying what is often unsaid, confronting stereotypes, and genetic imperatives. He writes with a blend of economy, humour and compassion that is rare in poetry, often finding the unexpected phrase or an unusual, but exact, image to surprise and illuminate. This poetry is how New Women want their New Men to be - strong, sensitive and empathetic!"
More recently Tim has edited 'Stars Like Sand' a collection of Australian Speculative Poetry with PS Cottier, and has just published a novella called 'Landfall' with Paper Road Press, also available as an e-book from Amazon.
Tim has an excellent Blog at Books in the Trees.
The Tuesday Poets are an international group who try to post a poem every Tuesday and take it in turns to edit the main hub. If you'd like to see what the others are posting today, please click on this link to visit the Tuesday Poem site.
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