izzy

the river is filled with thunder
bursting onto pavements
pulling pedestrians under

found out yesterday that this dinosaur
from poundland, this poorly cast plastic
Brontosaurus can yawp, can sing

people singing like it’s serious
we are making SERIOUS MUSIC
the cops came far too late

give them cheek, give them
give them a quiet roar
and your widest doe-eyed smile

lights with a dimmer switch
were made for dancing under
even the brutal are beautiful things

*

sarah

There’s nothing worse than a jerk at a wedding
But to be fair, this couple is frolicking in the entrance
To the carpark into which I need to deposit my car
And me being me, I am running late
So forgive me for the narrowed eyes that I am directing
At the two identical photographers with 200mm lenses
And monopods (fuck off, you don’t need those in daylight)
Who are shooting her from the wrong direction like idiots
(Full sun when you could have angelic backlight)
Who are yelling ‘Carol! Laugh Carol! Keep laughing!’
And poor Carol is spinning like a wind up ballerina
On the end of her husband’s arm, dizzy and tipsy
And Carol is trying so hard to laugh
Carol is trying so hard to enjoy every single second
Of this, the best day of her life
And Stavros and Stavros (I’ve named them)
Are snapping away, indifferent to my pissed off
Hands-off-the-wheel-and-folded mutiny
And Carol is still spinning, light dancing off her dress
Tripping over her fine lace train. Her husband is grinning
Gormless, oblivious to the beads of sweat on her brow
And the Stavs, bellowing ‘Carol! You gotta keep laughing!
Keep laughing, Carol! Keep. Laughing. Carol.’
And she’s wheezing, hyena-faced, panicked,
Letting out spurts of sound like an old pair of bellows
Spinning and spinning and spinning
And blurting out what might at a pinch be joy.
Keep laughing, Carol.
It’ll never be better than this.

*