A Friday of Poems

 

Mad author running in permafrost with dog, June 23

Club Mile High Confusion

Aisle sitters yes you

Why would you choose to stare at the back of a seat when you can stare at the world from

32,000 feet

And sit in the sun

Wear your shadze if you want

As you gaze down at the clouds like goddam Jesus himself

or god himself

Or god's mum

Queen God

Moon cloud mattresses

Kapok dreams heaven sent to

mountain ridges, kidney-shaped lakes

braided rivers cubic zirconia bright

the sea oh the sea

green carpet crops

a house with a child waving

You're an explorer of the 2020s

A human drone

While you smell the Nescafe permeating the cabin

cookie or kumara crisps

Club mile high

Windowseat Tours R Us

Robbie Williams Was in a Band Called Take That

I once had a novel edited

and was told I used that too much

And that that is not needed

That it's most often superfluous

Now every time I go to at a that

I fight myself

then I leave it out

But I know for a fact

that sometimes

just like a Brit boy band

That word that

is needed

so I slap it back in

Take That

That

Running Into Sixty

The GP called Dr Caramello like the biscuit said

When you start running you should only run one minute

then walk one minute

Otherwise you’ll get shin splints

Otherwise you might not be able to walk the next day

If

Like me you start running

Mental as anything

You’re feeling good

It’s Day #1

You manage ten minute stretches no sweat

Actually you are sweating but you’re enjoying

The sweat

You ran down to the river

So you run up

As best you can

But you puff like a pot smoker

And you have to stop frequently

To catch breath yours

You don’t stretch after your 5 km run

You’re too busy Tweeting about it!

“Thought I’d start running again. Day #1 done! All joints intact!”

You do get the chills and drink coffee instead of water

The next day you ache all over

By the afternoon you feel like you’re coming down with something

The flu, the covid, the cold so common

You’re hot in your new modal top from

Glassons made sustainably from beech leaves

You think you’ll go to bed early

But you have G & T read a chapter of Penelope Lively

You love Penelope Lively and want to be her

You cook the dinner

You look at the new running shoes you bought 

high post Day #1 run

And decide to give yourself another day’s respite

In case, you know, shin splints

Then you’ll run again

Into sixty

 

 

Jane Bloomfield

from 'Collection 2023'