Submissions by PGLithag
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
My poems are not lyrical or flowery or flouncy or whimsical.... at least I don't I think they are. I am still trying to find my tribe...
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
25th Jun 2021 8:41am
25th Jun 2021 8:41am
Camden Town
DJ rocks a reggae beat,
dull after dark. In the day, sticky underfoot,
the stench of old ale, cider, and smoke.
Some strain of skunk or spunk; sweet, sour and salty
My mop sheaths the stench for a time in pine
To be drowned later under a swell of noxious perfume.
Pints pour and scores are totted and marked
Darts thrown, targets hooked,
unknown, unnamed, ultimately forgotten.
Sacred rituals, breathy smiles,
Intensify to climax in sordid shags out back
Out of sight between a pallet of empty bottles
and the back wall of the...
dull after dark. In the day, sticky underfoot,
the stench of old ale, cider, and smoke.
Some strain of skunk or spunk; sweet, sour and salty
My mop sheaths the stench for a time in pine
To be drowned later under a swell of noxious perfume.
Pints pour and scores are totted and marked
Darts thrown, targets hooked,
unknown, unnamed, ultimately forgotten.
Sacred rituals, breathy smiles,
Intensify to climax in sordid shags out back
Out of sight between a pallet of empty bottles
and the back wall of the...
#death
#homelessness
#poverty
319 reads
3 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
22nd Jun 2021 4:31pm
22nd Jun 2021 4:31pm
Sleep
At three a.m. I awake to a cue
as reliable as any alarm
shaken from dreamless worries, I stir
nudged by an invisible hand, or sound
same as last night and the night before
The cycle continues for five or six days
and on the seventh day I sleep
On shadow days energy replete, actions repeat,
colours unseen, faces I love to gaze on
now blur, tiny frowns unnoticed
I am wired, running on habit, so tired,
Desperate for the day to end
Light to recede, jarring noises to calm
Muscles untense, legs unache, guilt abate
Heads...
as reliable as any alarm
shaken from dreamless worries, I stir
nudged by an invisible hand, or sound
same as last night and the night before
The cycle continues for five or six days
and on the seventh day I sleep
On shadow days energy replete, actions repeat,
colours unseen, faces I love to gaze on
now blur, tiny frowns unnoticed
I am wired, running on habit, so tired,
Desperate for the day to end
Light to recede, jarring noises to calm
Muscles untense, legs unache, guilt abate
Heads...
#moon
#summer
#night #sleep
#night #sleep
310 reads
0 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
22nd Jun 2021 4:23pm
22nd Jun 2021 4:23pm
Radio Man
Furnture seller
Cockney lad,
Likely lad
one of the lads
Living it large
and living long enough to
watch his wife die
on a video call,
and her in her overall
sucking through a tube
useless effort
and he stayed at home
locked down
Nowhere to go
Noone to see
only a phone call
from the bereavement lady
there was noone else
just the lads at work
when there was work
and then he went on the radio
talked about the complainers
why shouldn't I get away he says
away...
Cockney lad,
Likely lad
one of the lads
Living it large
and living long enough to
watch his wife die
on a video call,
and her in her overall
sucking through a tube
useless effort
and he stayed at home
locked down
Nowhere to go
Noone to see
only a phone call
from the bereavement lady
there was noone else
just the lads at work
when there was work
and then he went on the radio
talked about the complainers
why shouldn't I get away he says
away...
#grief
#death
#pandemic
333 reads
0 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
10th Jun 2021 8:50am
10th Jun 2021 8:50am
Love me as I am (Long)
Have you lived inside your head
for more than a minute or an hour?
Like gold, can you sift your own ideas
about your life from the junk of public opinion;
those who judge you and tell you how to be?
Does the wall across from your pillow
sometimes feel more like a friend
than the people you call friends
and then dissolve behind your blotted tears.
When your search for your public you
requires more than a morning cup of tea
when your mojo creeps away and hides
refuses to yield the words, like rubies in a mountain
On these days...
for more than a minute or an hour?
Like gold, can you sift your own ideas
about your life from the junk of public opinion;
those who judge you and tell you how to be?
Does the wall across from your pillow
sometimes feel more like a friend
than the people you call friends
and then dissolve behind your blotted tears.
When your search for your public you
requires more than a morning cup of tea
when your mojo creeps away and hides
refuses to yield the words, like rubies in a mountain
On these days...
#sadness
#loneliness
#SelfWorth #pandemic
#SelfWorth #pandemic
377 reads
5 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
10th Jun 2021 8:49am
10th Jun 2021 8:49am
Old Man
I am nothing like you
though you might wish
it were true
The shadows you cast fall dark
across my path but this sun
burns brighter than
your jealous stars and
angry moons, haunting memories
of nights gone, passes made
and missed while you were so pissed
you couldn't piss straight
And here we are, older than before
love lost like loose change
but I remember those young
things, shared secrets, loving days
and snowy night walks
when I was exactly
like you.
though you might wish
it were true
The shadows you cast fall dark
across my path but this sun
burns brighter than
your jealous stars and
angry moons, haunting memories
of nights gone, passes made
and missed while you were so pissed
you couldn't piss straight
And here we are, older than before
love lost like loose change
but I remember those young
things, shared secrets, loving days
and snowy night walks
when I was exactly
like you.
#relationships
#aging
361 reads
5 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
9th Jun 2021 4:14pm
9th Jun 2021 4:14pm
Love me as I am (zipped)
You must live inside your head,
however briefly,
and sift through the junk of public opinion
to distill your own pure voice.
If summoning your public persona
feels like a hardship requiring
more than a morning cup of tea -
then learn to love your isolation.
If your solitude, like contagion,
scares those who seek comfort in the crowd,
shut your eyes.
Embrace your strangeness.
Delve into your own dark sea
dwell in its fathoms, unearth words
like rubies from a mountain,
Explore those ebony threads,
and weave...
however briefly,
and sift through the junk of public opinion
to distill your own pure voice.
If summoning your public persona
feels like a hardship requiring
more than a morning cup of tea -
then learn to love your isolation.
If your solitude, like contagion,
scares those who seek comfort in the crowd,
shut your eyes.
Embrace your strangeness.
Delve into your own dark sea
dwell in its fathoms, unearth words
like rubies from a mountain,
Explore those ebony threads,
and weave...
#sadness
#love
#loneliness #SelfWorth
#loneliness #SelfWorth
389 reads
2 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
9th Jun 2021 2:18pm
9th Jun 2021 2:18pm
Hot Pink
A fine pair of legs it has to be said
Fuchsia pegs in hot rocker pink
Flamboyant queen, he or she,
Decidedly queer you have to agree
Fluffy boa thrown back in disdain
head held high, such a beautiful creature,
in sizzling coral, obsidian black,
But please be respectful; stand well back.
He makes his move, stepping gingerly forward,
first one foot, a knee bend, it’s just a tad awkward
like walking through mud in ones best shoes.
He lifts his wings to shoulder height
There’s a snap like a twig, then a vigorous flapping ...
Fuchsia pegs in hot rocker pink
Flamboyant queen, he or she,
Decidedly queer you have to agree
Fluffy boa thrown back in disdain
head held high, such a beautiful creature,
in sizzling coral, obsidian black,
But please be respectful; stand well back.
He makes his move, stepping gingerly forward,
first one foot, a knee bend, it’s just a tad awkward
like walking through mud in ones best shoes.
He lifts his wings to shoulder height
There’s a snap like a twig, then a vigorous flapping ...
#LGBT
#animals
#birds
585 reads
1 Comment
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