Going Through

 

The amount of

Canada Goose

outside the boozer

is one draw away

from predictable

Hey! Fever

with the teargas in his lungs

another glass of headache 

and a lawnmower made of grass

The Rakes on the Moor

It's hazy on the horizontal,

back like what we were 25 ago.

 

The form was 6 and out the window,

we were blanket-bound and figuring out.

 

But like a morning after brew, strong and

Sweet, it memory sticks, like gratitude.

 

---

 

It's hazy on the horizontal, back when

we were rakes on the moor, shag-haired

 

crap-carred, clocking up kips and lifts and

part-time mothering like sucking pigs for

 

the butties some habits couldn't take. Back when

we were watch-less with the only solid thing

 

to pass our liquor lips was and tripe and we

were one dropped 'd' away from certainty.

 

---

 

Back when we were made of rubber and

bounced and stretched our necks and

 

necked in stretches in improbable leather

jackets drinking fairy liquid and glass, 

grass laid by the motorway as angels with arty

faces in ringer tees fire-set all over the place.

 

---

 

Did it ever rain back when? Who knows,

we were curious, we were yellow,

 

we were certainly not Burley, we hitched

in from Ashton, Burnley, swam forth in

 

Firths, rattled Potts in Trees, sat on our

Botts with Janes of various sizes, got

 

pissed as sods, shipped in inevitable Barrows,

remained happy, forgetful and Moody.

           

---

 

Some past has passed as tunnel trudge.

Some as fireworks (accidental, not our fault).

 

Some hungry loves. Some wanted salt.

Some's lain bases of good sauce

 

and built foundation, for all of us,

and the boy from the wrong generation. 

Tory Tanka Ben Bradley

 the repeat bleats of

tweet deleters spell bradley

amaze fazed hunger

games guests at victorian

mansfielld maths class bent badly

say it with powers

the coldpitch changeroom

custardkeen brewroom

skunkeye vapedew

buswait stopshower


the lanyardstaffed airb'loon

overhoured thumbscrew

'spitalport softshoe

teacakesn' whiskysour


the ginnelwait thankyou

highpharma fixchew

stagnight dresszoom

vancrewlane allower


the barbervisor fatchew

topred starrunes

boilerbreak fitflue

carcussed ticketrower


the kidspicked smokebloom

satnight taxqueue

optomistedbalcoo

fifthfloor ourshower


the releasegate datedue

scaffpole swearstrew

leafbattle leanbroom

groutwait napnappypower



the candrrop parkfume

resimeeting absentclue

hopepin horsehoe

indigre sponsehour


the trainstacked legroom

notifate deliverscoots

rehearsallast scriptloom

cleaningthese emptytowers


the busback autotune

dogstick facemoon

pensionsave pintnoon

'alfan'alfan' sweetan'sour


the frinight hairgroom

overhung footballfume

allplotn’glower inthesereal

corridors of power

MOWER

 'TELL THEE

I REMEMBER WHEN

                   THIS 

WERE

               ALL

               CONCRETE 

formfollows

 inthe dysprosiumrush

of twentytwentytwo

cowboypoppets asked

sirisqualid for direction

vapesignalled ghettowords

in a virtuous hush theyhad

royalor kitchensink names

they toasted onelong screengrab

aforetheygo ofthe first third

ofthe richlist phonepaper behind

paywalls stunned horoscope

handy withan inconsistent h drop

in ponchostrainers in a

stunshow selfaware before

the barrenscape of some

oneelse’s land these knowalls

’ganic inthe halflife rode

to town with barbwireincentive

wore achingmacs reignfaced they

hung ‘stainable trainers overwires

to make tribes relevant again they

marketably parked their

nespessomachines circled

between the lawhouse and studgame

opposite theplaylist and never

oncewonderedwhy the wall

towalltowall locals hated these

thickand sunday youth in over

sized jogpieces carrying

collateral coffee in culturally

signifying queuewear pretending

tobe unbranded these shavekitters

stillbore amerisitcom voices stil

lwith broad suplements of recorded

music theyhadnopart in picturing

acemetery functionary shots

forthe slideshow ofa nouveau

trailerpark hauteboy reek proving

you can leadyour device to charger

butyou cannot make it sync 

lootingdone off theyrode and

onthe barshelf left 49 copies of 

howtoberight but about it

go so so so fuckingwrong