Her accidental beauty,
A cacophony stood still,
A sapling in spring
Unaware of the sun.
A blooming bud
Awash with light,
Looking to the saddened sky
And catching an April tear.
Her lips two dawns,
One lighting the day,
The other hidden soft
Under a nervous bite.
Her darting eyes,
Unintentionally coy
As birds stop to hover
And angels combine.
Her accidental beauty,
A riot swept aside,
A breeze as sweet as the sugar
Fermenting as heavens collide.
Like stars we fell on the street,
A gentle fire alive with smiles,
Hearts warmed up with wine,
A force kept sweet with dreaming.
Nowhere we rambled,
Laughter pushing our strides,
Nature keeping us close,
The breeze like a friend,
Catching our breaths
And letting them rise.
I looked into your eyes
And saw life like a blossom,
A bud, a fresh morning,
A grin as wide
As the arms I held you with,
A life as high as moonshine,
A kiss left rainfall soft.
I witnessed thoughts
That scared me
And sights I thought were gone,
I lost my breath and smelt magic,
Spent thoughts and then held on.
Here where
Diseased
Masks slip
Onto shapes
Soft and
Weary,
Paintings
Of mirrors
Are stolen
And hung
From their
Ceilings,
Gardens
Grow
With freedom
And bread
Is bought
With
Tears.
The place
Is now,
The people
Hard,
The language
Brittle,
Yet the
Saffron
Dust that blows,
Is as
Golden
As any sun.
It is a
Place of
Here
Where
An empty
Palace
Blesses
Every sacred
Street on the
Walk home,
It screams
Survival.
The city smelt sweet,
Everything seemed right
Even the sunshine followed me
As I spoke to strangers
Like a high on life salesman
Unleashing his patter
To a crowd waving money.
Shadows were lit up with smiles,
Laughter weaved
Through the breeze
And tickled my tongue,
Nothing felt wrong,
It was like an epiphany
Or at least a great dream.
You were the beautiful conclusion
To a day that made my life
Or at least contained an upturn,
A fortune of riches
Kissing my lips
And holding me close,
A lifetime of wonder.
It seemed nothing could go wrong,
Words became pictures
And the pictures became stories
Filled with pride, love and glory,
Hope and adventure,
Mountains seemed smaller,
The world was our oyster.
Every kiss pulled a heartstring,
Every moment was speeding,
I felt giddy and blissful,
The world had never
Seemed so alive,
Birds spoke words in the garden,
Idiots dared to dream.
On the picnic bench
You fed me smiles
And washed away my sorrow,
You melted in my arms
Like a dream about to disappear
Or an ice cube in the rain,
There were sounds I heard like thunder
But all I saw was sunshine,
A goddess through the leaves.
On the picnic bench
With no-marks in the distance
I wanted the clocks to stop,
This will do, all is here
And anytime I’m feeling down
I’ll know I once felt joy,
A heartbeat filling my body,
Bathing in your eyes,
A new world dawning electric.
On the picnic bench
So close to perfection
I could’ve cried a fresh sky,
You uttered words so colourful
I saw rainbows taking flight,
My dreams were overthrown,
In Japan a saying goes,
“When love is deep, much can be accomplished”,
I wanted to change the world.
The lifts smell of sunscreen
And there’s a sweat box we call home,
Small children with insects,
Old women with tan lines
And dogs barking poetry.
Girls with made up names scream songs
And cry like its Christmas,
Builders ignore deadlines on sun-beds,
Birds mock the arcades
And flap like they’re special.
Idiots walk like Jesus
And drunkards hang on palm trees,
Tattoos move and glisten,
Flesh wobbles and shimmers
And the sand never settles for long.
The town is 80% beer
And foreign food seems familiar,
Fist fights are just part of the fun,
Kareoke and porn are served as hors d’oeuvres
And greed is a wrestling steak.
I’ll pretend to be your brother,
Squeeze your arm affectionately,
Dumbfound the stalkers with sick jokes
And laugh about nothing in French.
We’ll get rid of the Jesus freaks
Talking about the death of our mother
And how you’ve found out you’re infertile,
We’ll escape the crowds and start whispers.
You’ll find solace in my wide brown eyes
And tell me you’ve had sex with strangers,
You’ll say you’re addicted to vodka
And stare till your face starts to slide.
I will watch you float round the room,
A breath of fresh air through the cigarette smoke,
I will sit on a sofa believing my thoughts
And shape them all into routines.
As motion staggers and night becomes dawn
I will say my goodbyes and search for your gaze,
I will hunt round the room till I see your illusions
And finally pinpoint the actress in you.
I could lie on the planks
Of this small nowhere bridge
For a lifetime,
Staring at the frogs
And the shots of sky
As they split through
A canopy of sycamores.
As the shimmering hush
Of the stream passes by
I am no longer the curious child,
Poking things with sticks,
Laughing at smells
And trying to catch
Insects in my fingers.
I guess I’m looking for something
I might not find in the frogs,
A raspberry sweeter than syrup,
A yellow sky,
A new friend,
A hiccup that acts like a pause
On a journey that’s just broken down.
I hate it when things
Are up in the air,
Aeroplanes too graceful
To ever make sense,
Stray balloons drifting,
Birds too beautiful to touch,
Clouds meeting new clouds
And whispering rainfall.
I hate seeing photos
Of long gone illusions,
Listening out for the rumbles
Of natures sad songs,
Looking through windows
And hunting for past times
As I translate the sounds
Of unfortunate storms.
Yes, he will
Suck the evil spirits
From your mind,
Increase
Your sexual drive,
Lighten depression
And help your
Hair grow
Till you’ve lost weight
And been reunited
With the one
That you love.
Yes, he will
Break black magic
Like simple twigs
Above a bonfire,
Improve
Your sports performance,
Brush domestic problems
Under the carpet
And bless
All your children
With fine health
And pure thoughts.
So loosen your mind,
Put down the pills,
Stop meditating,
Forget all the rules,
Go to Mr Khazam
And look at the watch,
Look at the watch,
Look at the watch,
You are worth it,
Just like the shampoo girl,
You are worth it,
You’ll be cured.
Slacker Shack
Dunstan Carter : Poetry 