Signal Transduction

To collapse the waves between us

The deathly whispers of the sea

Slits the signal of our lives

Appears as double before our plea

.

The function behind our faces

Fires nerves that bid us freeze

Streaming particles of glaring moonlight

Baring bitter revenge of the breeze

.

The foreign touch is re-presented

To sink together or blown apart

Yet the comfort of our rescue

Hides a connection, heart to heart

Ingratitude

They made you with the maker’s leave

A whisper on the breeze

Led on by the shapes of hills

Summer passed to winter frills

 

Morning strikes with rain and thunder

Accusing you of blunder

All the gardens yours to tend

Crying out for some small mend

 

But now the ghosts have fallen silent

Even your instincts are compliant

Never have we had it so good

To know any better we never would

Streets Of Home

An after-image lingers

On the streets of home

The frozen music fading

The archways leading home

 

Dying flecks float yonder

On the streets of home

The glinting river lading

The rays of sunset home

 

A wind-chill on your fingers

On the streets of home

The warm and bitter heating

Greets the traveller home

 

Familiar from distance fonder

Shrunken streets of home

The eyes of age retreating

Paints the scene of home

Some Fake News – Garden Gnome Pandemic

A new pandemic has been discovered involving people who own garden gnomes. Most of the afflicted are elderly, and so far no children have died, but the government has warned that we are all at risk. Most of the deaths involve co-morbidities such as heart-attacks, cancer and being struck by a motor vehicle, but it should be stressed that the main cause of these deaths is the owning of a garden gnome. Additionally, there have been cases of deaths where no other morbidity has been found proving how lethal this epidemic can be.

The death rate has been climbing sharply as more deaths are investigated and garden gnomes found. At first it was thought that the death rate could be as high as 100% since every dead person who had owned a garden gnome turned out to be quite dead. It was later discovered that there are living people who own garden gnomes. This selfish action which endangers us all is fully deserving of mob violence and the police have been adapted into a militia to help deal with it.

Since this is a “novel” pandemic, garden gnomes being previously unknown in human history, there has been confusion over statistics, cause and effect, and other scientific issues. It is important therefore to only heed and share government approved information and denounce all attempts to get at the truth with dissent, evidence gathering and experiment as “conspiracy theory”.

The government has announced that since it is not clear exactly how garden gnomes kill it has taken the step of shutting down all activity and enforcing a policy of solitary confinement. Many citizens have delighted in the news. “I can finally do all the things I’ve always wanted to do but never had time”, said one mother of three, “stare at the ceiling, make stick figures out of old newspapers, etc”. The government also announced it will cover the pay of all workers, as well as refunding any missing underpants. When not asked where the money will come from the Minister for Economic Affairs didn’t reply “China has loads of money. We’ll just borrow it from them. It’s fine”.

Atonal

Did you try to find your place

In a faceless menagerie

A child locked inside a park

Where no one knows how to play

 

Tried to read from all the books

In a language you don’t understand

And tried to flee from every look

Foreign custom in native land

 

Went round every corner

And found there’s nothing there

Just a variant of the former

And another vacant stare