that gap that
over-againstness
of what has been
put forth locked
into the anthill
the Normal Routine
carrying yr fleck
in the tunnel you
wake dreaming shock
of his handwriting
a thin slice in time
through a rising
population my dead
friend's handwriting
in the book his book
her book a pale
green light discomfort
in the left she's right
because foot the symm-
etry/dance. food.
shelter. rest. passing
a bookshop on a corner
one night after work
late ochre & grey
in the fog Canal
Chiaro suddenly
spotlit on its
plinth in the
window in this
little town
& far away — hey —
the work of a writer
of yr own country
not very much older
than yrself the old
country ti ricordi?
in translation caught
/or hit home as they
say/(this must be)
dense pulse through
the glassy mass
strange faces re-
flected upside-
down in the liquid
in yr cup when a
door slams shut &
I was
stirring my coffee
idly
thinking of that
night years ago
strange con-
certedness of
getting isolated
if that's it if
it's that passive
that concentrated
a little boy's choice
of sweets & beanos
adrift among the rongo-
rongo tablets sift-
ing while but there's
a loose thread in
everything worth
following until
you see someone
else invented
all the words
(naked twisted
scraggly branches)
but I well went on
inventing in my
head which is one
of my inventions
by the way (who's
winning?) naked|
twisted| scraggly|
branches|
& one
slippery in-law in
middle management &
the manipulation
business. for example. more
than equal to the
wily old farmer greatly
relieved when he settled
his affairs for him just
before dieing
massively it must be
said in his own favour.
easily persuaded I
expect. possession.
no/yes twirl about
& (black/white) dance.
next please. thank you.
& down.
under a bright
light-cone in
the dark
the wires
the tangles
the sparks
the memories
the patterns
(glint) of
tiny quick
(blue) flashes
this must be
(a dab at
subtraction
too)
this must be
life
buy it
I do
in a pronoun
fizzle
scratching along
with a little pencil
on a ripple of paper
that shivers &
glints there's ground
enough to go around/
twice. & twice again.
a crease on a page.
shadow.
light.
& dark grey patches
through the branches
one sharp pulse
(pulse) ducks with
puffed up fluttering
feathers on a cobalt
stream pressed hard
& pushed you out the
door life between
the sheets of a 3D
picture-book (dead
decorous & useful)
quits let's commun-
icate then I woke up
works & days
refrain
not a word
I think you know
how we want them
to be doesn't she?
us. echo her. snap.
a book a cathach.
little by little.
vertical cliffs
clip in spicules
of is it ice it
must be or wait
gulls? here you are
sir, two beers.
the atmosphere
here is very clear.
shhh dear! he might
hear. oh look there's
frank eroticism.
who's he?
black
gold
black
yellow
black
red
immediate concert of
the tools icy fibres
feeling along vulnerable
crevices
Energy
Humour
Affection
but do you
like their work?
a little-known work
works
on paper
is it working?
recent work
re-discovered work
early work
late work
2 to the fore//3 step back
collected works
selected works
Water Works
Selected Shorter Masterworks
Hard Work
Minor Work & Major Work
Rather Puzzling Early Work
Men at Work Shovelling Round the Gasworks
Neglected Work & Iron Works
Collected Longer Minor Works
Charity Works & Clockwork
Dock Worker Stockbroker
Heavy Smoker Hard Stoker
Night Work & Light Work
The Works: move over.
at reception
the bundle
thanked her
& took it away
opened it
disappointed
this story this
is a story a
story this
is the dully
again & again
burn it.
birdsong under a tree.
sense.
dots.
how many pebbles how much symmetry?
a frame a gasp a knock
a shadow.
shutters open apart across a pool, a plate
of light thicken-
ing
fixed. so. the river the city a curve on a
map in
yr
pocket — move and you blur. move yr
love in time
's little
gullet and — moved — stop. move and you
pause at the top of
light's
whip-tip ready. move and you've been there.
stop. move. stop.
making
sense room frames fun games and — money. is
that funny? don't
smile.
click.