When the Dogs Bite

Sunday, 26 April 2026

26th April 2026

years of detritus

built up around the greenhouse

filthy woman

Postponed Dinner.

shots fired!

five outside the door, all blanks;

a test for the security services

and a great opportunity for deflection.

We won't talk about bombing civilians

of that he was engaged in sex trafficking

and was a major player in a paedophile ring

but instead how he needs a new ballroom

with a bomb shelter bunker below it.

The 'shooter' apprehended, but kept hidden

just another cog in the media machine.

And while we're here let's sell you

on the New Trump School for Young Ladies

and the line of erotic schoolgirl clothes

for heterosexual men who fantasise

about raping other people's kids.

Saturday, 25 April 2026

25th April 2026

evening fire

finally burning conifer stumps

from two years ago

Fountain

I would have given a bad review

a solar-powered fountain

In England.

In March.

Where the rain came down in sheets

and the only time you saw the sun

was watching Lucifer

live from Florida.

I persevered, though,

and come late April

we had an early summer

and the fountain worked.

A moral to this tiny tale

if I'm permitted to make a point

is that teenage neighbours

are fucking loud in the garden.*

*fucking as adjective, not verb

Friday, 24 April 2026

24th April 2026

long life milk

will still turn to liquid cheese

after two years

F(re)ecycle II

All my piercing jewellery

collected over thirty years

one box full

All the money I spent

collected in one small box

and now useless to me.

Bead rings, barbells, tongue studs;

a huge amount of stretching cones

and flesh tunnel plugs.

I'd rather do jiu-jitsu.

Thursday, 23 April 2026

23rd April 2026

rudbeckia

only two ninety-nine each

none left

F(re)ecycle

my dad used perlite;

swore it kept his seedlings moist

if he was late with watering;

added it to pots and kept his fuchsias happy

wanted it added to his grave

though we weren't allowed.

I've kept this bag for years

but I've stopped gardening now

so does anyone want it

or should I just bin?

Wednesday, 22 April 2026

22nd April 2026

hospital sign

"Need help with Eyesight?"

the rest is in Latin

exercise class

followed by advanced jiu-jitsu

where we add the caveat

"If they're untrained you can..."

because I'd never leave my hand like that,

and I'll defend that arm bar.

Outside the sun is shining

and a host of dandelions

are smiling at the sky.

On my mobile

I price up industrial woodchippers

and wonder if they'll shred bone.

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

21st April 2026

Baby?

you can drive my car...

I can't see...

Intaglio Romantic

I caught sight of an innovation

on this of 'things made by craftsmen'

which included an etching press

constructed by 3D printer

How curious!

A 3D printer

utilised to make a 2D printer

because the former is cheaper

than to reproduce the technology

of five centuries ago.

notebooks replaced paper

paper replaced vellum

vellum replaced papyrus

papyrus replaced clay

The application of technology

brings about convenience

and world destruction.

How would Prometheus feel

if he knew his theft of fire

would lead the thermonuclear bombs?

Would his liver regret the sacrifice?

and if I had an etching press

would I even use it?

Or just keep on painting

and writing my rubbish?

Monday, 20 April 2026

20th April 2026

daughter's birthday

twenty-eight years passed since we met

when she was but twelve

Along the path

I toss bread onto the roof

of an abandoned building

where it lies among sedges

and sycamore seedlings

grasping at life from a centimetre of leaf mould.

Regulations

prevent me tossing it in the trash

and in the compost it becomes a foetid mess

at least here it can be taken

by birds too lazy to search for grubs

and squirrels at my daughter's bedtime,

and if left in piece

will allow microscopic fungal blooms

tiny proto-humanity

separated by a strand of DNA

and the process of evolution