Grimbeau

Grave Achilles sat
blissfully darning bed socks for victims of his inexplicable mood swings—
a timely encounter downunder thus helped forge
the great shape of thingness
for shrewd Ulysses’ war eyes sparkled to behold·
on seeing this Achilles carped the diem & told this glum mucker that life beats death hands
down no worries mush

Tummy warming stuff
on this wet day in Maida Vale inside a humming bird’s ear
sipping whalebone bisque before an aboriginal public—
noble stuff indeedy poohs·
however mud sticks regardless take the point
on board & suck on it to extract epic sangine juices
lick lips
breathe a deep sigh without
ever knowing it

What came next was cruciating pain
Inexplicable as always—how many times can you leave home
without your keys till they finally write you off for dead?
Too many cheeseburgers, the certificate said
(one a day for eleven years) takes its toll
of a semi-god let alone the rest
even though they have a voice best ignore it all now
thanks for dropping by yours truly
An audible gasp echoed the Cypress
But looky there!
The creased up
scrunchings of crumpled egos orbit
the waste paper bin with my name on it
call me Mister No-One Much and you may have
a nasty shock in store, piped up Guess Who from inside an igloo
in modern Timbuktu
—By gum, some said, we thought the poor old sod was dead
—Perhaps he is, said Cheese on Toast,
leaning idly on a post