A broken bed in Bristol

The kind of thing

That loses importance over time

Like a rabbit’s foot

Forgotten in the freeze

Until it’s time to move on

 

At 30 I began to stutter

Words that came clipped

Now stuck between the roof

Of my mouth

And the top of my tongue

I was morose

Gimpy

Mute

 

Did you hear my oh rock?

I came to you on that day

When the sun fell in one big ball

And it was too late

 

Too late to fix my posture

Too late to fix myself

Too late for the lost boys’ club

Too late for Lady Alputa

Too late Lilly Luck

 

All I had was you

Oh rock

You were course

And rough

And bare

And I bore myself

And climbed in you

Once more

This Rock

 

Though I was more instinct

Than passion

More nerve ending

Than pleasure

More penis

Than cock

 

In that rock I climbed

And all the rubber women

Turned to climb as well

Their bare skimpy

Rubbery legs

But the sun was near

And drawing nearer

And the rubber women were melting

Like gum on the hot pool deck

Their eyes melted first

And then their lips

And then their bodies

 

And all that was left was their hair

Which burned up soon after

 

The rock grew hot too

For the sun was upon us now

The sun was here

 

Yet the rock was solid

For the rock was rock

And not rubber

 

I began to sweat

For the sun was upon us

And I was made of flesh

 

And the sun was upon us

And the sea was boiling

And joining the air

 

I was stuck in that rock

Near to joining the air as well

 

And then it was dark

And the rock began to cool

The sweat turned cold

And dripped down

From inside that rock

 

And I lapped at it

Until I could feel

The rock shake with happiness

And I lapped at it until

I could feel all the drops inside me

And the rock was stone

 

I climbed out

Among the rubber

Gummy pink puddles

All lips and heels

And burnt hair

And I made for the sea

 

Which was now big pillars of salt

Big African mounds

And they scared me

For the ocean was gone

 

And I tasted the air

Which was wet

And the salt fizzed

 

And white ghosts

Gathered around

Whispering complaints

And long fingers

The salt began to descend

And the fingers of the ghouls

Grew and grew and grew

 

Until they were one

And I felt salty too

And I rushed

Rushed away back

To my Big cold rock

 

They tried to follow

But the gas had gone

And a lilac smell

Blew on the wind

 

And the sky

Fell all in buckets

And golden forks

And I collected them

In my belt until it

Became awkward

 

The one fork which

I chose above the rest

I smashed into the rock

Until it bent into a spoon

And then a knife

And then a sword

 

And it was gold and smooth

And hot

I descended back

To the hole where I had hid

 

And I stabbed deep

Down into the rock

Until the heat began

To awaken her

 

And the sky kept pouring down

In buckets and forks

 

And the cuts went deeper and deeper

Until I thought I felt a vein

And the rock was alive and humming

Humming around me

 

And the place I had come from

Became black with shadow

And the way ahead seemed to glow

 

The heart burnt through the ceiling

And I fell down to the glowing bottom

Into an eagle’s nest

 

I took his talon in my hand

And held it till the eagle grinned

And the eagle’s grin was pleasant

 

His beak curled up at both ends

And his eyes told me something

I didn’t know and he flew through

The hole I had made in the ceiling

Out into where the sky was falling

 

And I searched his nest for his eggs

For the eagle’s eggs

Must be the best

 

And I looked

And looked and looked

But all I could find was hair

 

And more hair and a feather

Every now and then

And then a dust ball

And then I was tired and hungry

 

And the eagle came back

With fresh chiles and fish

And he fed them to me

And I fell asleep

There for a long time