top of page

Human


Illustration by Abhishek Udaykumar

 

9 ‘O’ clock on the watchtower – the barbers walk home,

bowling underarms to children

as they commentate

like Tony Greig.

 

A tea party on a helipad – watching ships avoiding shops,

McDonalds on every map

turned into wrappers

of sticky landfills.

 

A Bergman moment on her wall – her time slowly running out,

a park full of couples

afraid to die alone

with the television on.

 

How many humans have lived on earth? The teacher asks,

sisters, mothers, aunts

and tooth fairies

pray before dawn.

 

A street full of furniture shops – as the darling day laments,

the dancing bison drums

locked in spirits of sweat

till the cows come home. 

 

Grey machines hollow out countries – it’s after the winter solstice,

a long brown letter

withers by her door,

she’s left a long time ago.

 

Somewhere in London a sepal bursts – dinosaurs once roamed the earth,

continents drift like ice

on a soda pop lake

making people dizzy

 

That night a road roller breaks down – teens trash a crumbled den,

the rain falls like caviar

and horses stop for drinks

in the lanthanum moonlight

 

There is a country beneath the Adriatic Sea – mama says it’s time for bed,

the library is shut

it isn’t fall just yet

but schoolkids wear tweed

 

How much longing can a human withhold? Whispers the clammy cave,

the river has dried

she reads aloud,

there used to be things called trees.

81 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Selfie

Diana

Pieces

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page