When the Dogs Bite

Saturday, 17 January 2026

17th January 2026

boiling water

in a fourteen-inch wok

dead kettle

On Weaponising Terror

Dost thou ever sense a presence yet unseen

that thou doth find disturbing to the mind

perhaps in devout prayer thy insight keen

to probe the supernatural in kind.

For all those tales thou heard while still a youth

of monsters in the shadows of the land

have their origin in bleakest truth

and needed nothing more than willing hand.

The vampire that rose from bloodied tomb

was a woman buried days before her death

the witch who snatched thy baby from thy womb

an elder mother with a baby drawing breath.

By far the greatest monster in the world

are the men become what arrogance unfurled.

Friday, 16 January 2026

16th January 2025

one of these days

I'm going to run amok with an axe

free food and bedroom.

On The Nature of Love

There are a favoured few that come to mind,

when thou doth ask me what love be about

it seems to me a constant quest to find,

those special folk in life of worth to shout.

A spotty, ginger youth closed off my heart

for fear of the rejection it would hatch;

but left me be my free authentic art

and care not if Madame Fate would deal a match.

As I matured I found love in my sight,

with the maladjusted hagfish of a creature,

and yet I gave a portion of my right,

to self possession as a loving teacher.

In later years I found that love be leisure,

not to give or take, but both in equal measure.

Thursday, 15 January 2026

15th January 2026

David Hockney

sixties enfant terrible

has not aged well

On Thy Sister's Birthday

Although we have not met for many years

thou occupy my thoughts most every day

I think of thee with love as thy birthday nears

and fond memories of thee have come to sway.

An early recollection comes to mind

upon a back lawn full of daisies wild

where thou wouldst give a "helicopter ride"

to a shrieking, also gleeful, child.

Thou chaperoned a party for my friends

(our mum wrote "Happy Birday" on the cake)

a treasure hunt throughout the house did wend

thus such a decent childhood did you make.

And teaching me to ride a mighty horse

and fetching me from Brighton in due course.

Wednesday, 14 January 2026

14th January 2026

eye infection

and constant ache of arm

sleepless

On Loving One Another

love is that which can still forever bind

one person to another and yet still thirst

for more; yet polyamory may find

a second love without diminishing the first.

And lest thou think this be not the natural state

because of laws writ down by men of God

who vowed to never take a wife to mate

think ye of a mother's love, it be not odd

for her to love each child she bears the same

and still have more to spare for other family too

and yet bestow compassion and keep lit the flame

for those in need of help in crises new.

And if thou say this breaks the law of God above

then thou wilt never understand the depth of love.

Tuesday, 13 January 2026

13th January 2026

small eBay sale

but nowhere is accepting EVRI

littlest hobo song

Maybe Tomorrow

How easy it would be to sit at home

and eat a pack of Bourbons on the chair

make the dog feel valued with a juicy bone

and watch the morning telly without care.

How easy it would be to only take a little walk

into the nearest pretty seaside town

or Scottish Highland loch without another soul to gawk

and fill my coat with heavy stones and drown.

How easy it would be to sign away a soul

to any demon offering some boon

A trillion shiny dollars, say, a presidential goal

and lead the whole world dancing into doom.

Instead, I'll take the longer route to glory

and write myself into another story.

Monday, 12 January 2026

12th January 2026

isolation

a present from the dog

pink eye

Once again, thou covet of the warmth of spring;

for March when daffodils will show their yellow trim,

and there be touches of pure joy in every thing,

when dark and so cold winter winds are dim.

Yet thou do naught but fester in thy foetid smell

with fractured arm and left eye swollen red

and spin the tale how fortune's daughter fell,

and survived her trials to feast upon the dead.

And if thou paint thy pretty pictures there,

of hanging men upon a gallows left

think ye not that others might despair

of all the work obsession leaves bereft?

Who doth thou think will care about your worth

when thou doth finally depart this melting earth?

Sunday, 11 January 2026

11th January 2026

packing groceries

at the self-service checkout

some bloke starts scanning

93 YO Kills Wife, Turns Himself In.

As fast as love can grow, it can be sustained

for more than sixty years before thine age breaks hold

the bond between the two that was obtained

when yet still young enough to love and to be bold.

Richard Hocking took charge of his beloved wife

confined to a chair in pain as health decayed

and barely able to endure her life

for threescore years his love for her arrayed.

This Freemont man went out and bought a gun

and waited for a month ere licence granted

and tended every need she put upon

without complaint for this his love demanded.

A final trip by car to beauty spot

then confession to police his wife he's shot.