Jackson

We came out of the op-shop with a fitted sheet, a packet of birthday cards and a cutlery drainer. We chose the white mesh cutlery drainer as a pen-holder for our desk. The sheet is red, for our latest bed. The cards are to send to those who expect a card and, more importantly, to… Read more

TOTALITARIANISM begins at home First published in Not Entirely Present Read more

A painting by Hokusai, the ragged tree curves out and over the water, dipping the tips of its long fingernails. Beneath its elegant gnarl, night rain has wet the riverbank. I can’t sit. I squat then stand. It’s hard to have a routine, walk, contemplate, what with children, friends, the weather, the screaming of power… Read more

On the bridge the laned cars queue like cells in a narrowed artery. Beneath all that the river: a broad mirror After rain as I walk beside the mirror I’m poor as an empty can left on an exiled mattress The path and I become more travelled       Our spaces open       Our stones loosen After rain       as the light… Read more

There was a young fellow named Cheesy whose bedroom was messy and sleazy. There were orange peels, socks, dirty tissues and jocks and the smell made his mother uneasy. First published in Positive Words Read more

I drink until I pass out says the baby’s bib. With a picture of a bottle. Not a mother. First published in Writ Poetry Review Read more