Idolatrine

Genderbenders

Fearmongering

Nocturnal

Diurnal

Nursery Crimes

Dreamscape

Land

Elections

Populist cinematic set-up

communal worn-out getup

lamb voters to the slaughter

blithesome chops for the squatter

pathological liar driven by desire

filial flesh thrown to the fire

raising glasses to new sellouts

spinners inhale the barbecue smell

unseen inside of redoubts

this feast is cooked in hell.

Grand an offering

of splendid suffering

caption to nothing's what it seems

about democracy et al

plain ratified formalities

when hope goes up in smoke

and tear gas launches for us to choke

on elections of selections

blurting promises as deflections

to run for office made profession

about the culprit made no mention.

Olivine Maytime

Unwanted

Golgotha

Kintsugi

From clay they come in a diversity of shapes

when temperature rises high to cause vitrification

regardless of bone china, hard or soft-pastes

these showpieces are guilt-ridden by association.

Although impermeable, hard and heatproof

as well as chemically and resonance resistant

porcelains crumble under the life's hoof

bull in a China shop smashing in an instant.

As if the brightness of porcelain pieces

and the pulsating red of their brittle hearts

for the horned assailant are very reasons

provoked to burst in by fits and starts.

So the question arises amongst the shards

whether the porcelain or bull is the offender

compunction and contrition prick like barbs

as remorse and guilt get crushed in a blender.

The aforementioned words were lost

in the fire of a rare star were tossed

where terms melt slowly to mullite

stuck in Pele's hair, a knotted fright.

Spirit freezes inside the silicate veins

menacing look shot from bovine gaze

leaving behind their broken remains

flames fanned by heathens, still raze.

Bugs fatally attracted to its heat and glow

a cauldron mistaken for creation kiln

passion pit where they reach an all-time low

burning off their wings with sin.

From dust they were made and to it shall return

never were meant to rest as smithereens in urns

rightfully blown up by yearning raises concern

ceramics' floor marked with memorial cairns.

The weight of loss is palpable in the dust

razor-sharp shambles hiding in the edge

of bladelike mourning painted on their crust

all splinters unite to make a pledge.

Never again to leave a sliver behind

on the floor for customers to trample

mustering pieces for peace of mind

and promising to remain humble.

Tessera art wishes restoration of glory

back to better times, grand and hoary

be storeys tall up on the display racks

instead of looking through this parallax.

There, out of the sky's deep blue

the fragmented wish comes true

unannounced, start meteor showers

a benevolent hand with healing powers.

Disguised as the Midas touch

in the comet's radiant debris

this rain for bits is a nonsuch

which second life does guarantee.

With a sweep of the celestial hand

broken pieces ascend and gather

around the potter on his command

who blesses them with golden batter.

Gold cements the pieces back together

the circulatory system of our universe

is mapped onto the porcelains forever

yet chipped life to perfectionism a curse.

Bubblebath

Ground by the rototiller
mundanity rolls out routine
but thanks to the painkiller
hurt is washed down clean.

Inside this imitation sea
or pond confined in metal
spumy rejuvenation spree
fully restores lost mettle.

Roughed up by brick and mortar
for some respite I implore
while the surface gets hotter
I dive at the chance to explore.

Down lies a different world
liquid dimension of silence
this reality is much preferred
over the regular of compliance.

Bubbles caressing the vigour
and outline of this figure
froth is fleeting breakwater
until it is popped by the marauder.

Time is a buccaneer reminder
wave robbing me of my treasure
wrinkly grip fails to hold tighter
time is up and so's my leisure.

Out of my element a pleasure
it bends time's linear measure
with fragrant and savoury foam
cooked spaghetti hard to comb.

Memory which became a ritual
entered with swift acrosome
a parturition to relive instinctual
salvaged and repaired this flotsam.

When the day is old and out the gate
a bath always lifts the worldly weight
- ''Fizzy upthrust be my blindfold'' -
soft drink worthy of refined gold.

Finding the floral taste unique
taking in liquor as I dive
embraced by currents of mystique
surprised at the sea bed come alive.

Land strips emerge reborn
as a mirage island once torn
plucked from reality and into the blue
a voyage I had to come through.

Dead calm replaced by waves
where salt and sugar merge
at the estuary's tidal bore
joy oozes out from every pore.

Opaque

Paper-thin characters come alive

unfettered imagination with drive

fecundates the womb of origins

ink delivers marvelous stories.

Fiction is fleshed out and thrives

from the germ of inspiration grows

a seedling increasing in size

to a giant tree whose foliage glows.

Out of its wooden bark

twin masks are carved

one puts on a toothless grin

the other tears to its chagrin.

Let the people beware,

of the masks' interior sheen

reflections that ensnare

many lives within a scene.

Talent is the requirement

otherwise the lights will blind

elocution, both loud and silent

always ethically inclined.

By donning a specific guise

mood aid created in the soul

pieces sewn to harmonise

together acting as a thole.

A fulcrum for rowing the vastness

of roguish oceanic tempests

gives to questions some answers

appease their deepest resentments.

With arguments stitched in patterns

as trustworthy speech as honesty

an imitative act without hypocrisy

emergent word made of tatters.

Meagre rhetoric without a character

lost and lacking in divine spices

opaque veneer of tuxedo and fur

oarless in an ordeal of identity crises.

Kites

Up in the sky, across its expanse

bright concepts hover, perchance,

on hold due to the circumstance

for something to break their trance.

Lying in wait behind the clouds

singing old spirituals in a round

abstract kites painlessly drowse

until, one by one, all are bound.

The signal always unfathomable

their plummeting, unpalatable,

evoking memory of shooting stars

invisible fusion birthing quasars.

Each tether is knitted fast

around the shiny energies

a cloth not meant to last

fading the kites' memories.

Drifting on the wind they travel

in order for every yarn to unravel

through the spacial rend they go

to master the liftoff down below.

Catching the right draft can be a drag
it requires aerial ace swerve
garishness is a hot air balloon sandbag
undeserving of the kites' verve.

The more simple the more free
trinkets get tousled by the wind
weightless wins the Grand Prix
that agile who is disciplined.

Kites cannot depend on the weather
for sky is a Russian roulette
thunder may strike from the aether
making amulets a lightning-rod threat.

Jaundice Revolution

Ah! Behold the Pharaonic Gold's power

actuates to leave an exclamatory vowel

extraterrestrial allure holds like dowel

those souls driven by radical disavowal.

Gold's yellow reflects green with envy

monotonously push breaking and entry

thinking of schemes to steal the plenty

douse the fire with intoxicating bevvy.

Ulceration by political correctness

Original Sin unlocked the deftness

from the ancient seal, indirectness

its seven plagues raised awareness.

Insatiable fugitive desire invades

eternal sandy retreat forever aids

whenever each host draws blades

to cull the crafty jack of all trades.

The yellow barren wasteland of dreams

unwelcoming even to bacteria it seems

but not for the expert on market's whims

whose securities enslaved entire regimes.

Imported vices contaminated heme

bad enzymes destabilised biliverdin

cemetery became filled to the brim

with red blood cells killed by bilirubin.

Sans-Cullotes were made of those
scales which paperweight impose
so that all labour they foreclose
a hiss snatching from the shadows.

Popular devolution born during civil war
dance revolution of Gilet Jaunes who roar
time and again, discord ends in filial gore
forgotten is the eighteen twenty-one valour.

Touch

Fingerprints all over the apple

ruby most precious to the eye

a need to care and build a castle

although it tatters the fabric's ply

by collateralising all you own

tugging at pawnbroker's heartstrings

when away efforts get blown

slingshot touch, fierce ache it brings.

The recipients of our affection

tend to be the most ungrateful

err not, inapplicable to animals

for they are not humans rational

therefore they exist and matter

weal nor woe, beast nor foe

love deprived to affection drawn

strays reluctant on pitter-patter.

Pure hearts receive affection with joy
to them real love is not another toy
sincere kindness is returned doubly
trust is earned honestly and humbly
these fingerprints cannot be removed
betrayal is not part of animal attitude
to animals the merits matter
their love and loyalty don't falter.

Quietus

Malleable waxes rich in lipids

wick braids perplexingly-knit

whence came fire and the bees

or why the chandelier was lit.

One of the greatest mysteries

about the origins of candles

countless submitted inquiries

of them who swallow camels.

Distilling dry mosquitoes

milking wealth off confusion

professors with huge egos

fond of the intricate illusion.

The candles burning bright

a universe cold is now alight

wicks larger than the candles

crackling fire, hotly, prattles.

Clever enough to retort

in long-winded speech resort

waxy pith theories they blurt

shadow plays for the herd.

Outsmarted by real acumen

fancy-pants women and men

uppity moths to inner flame

fiction as facts misname.

Prisoners inside the cave

glow warps in lava puddles

make-believe conclave

by conjurer who mishandles.

Etch-A-Sketch philosophies

running wild on treadmills

powered by hypotheses

given farcical headings.

Developing Spelunker's lung

from exposure to the fun guy

bats roll out their carpet dung

award ceremony held in pigsty.

Wax effigies of higher alkanes

in a row at Madame Tussaud's

lipophilic drippings on its floors

the scorched Nobel Prize remains.

Innovation still melts away

wick duration - try as we might -

yet no decoding to our dismay

chorioretinitis plagues the sight.

Hold in doubt if light is needed

should we choose another path

in a séance to see the aftermath

all warnings will go unheeded.

Essential oils buffet strongly

flames fluttering like butterflies

ominous gust snatches tautly

there beadwork web of silent cries.

Wondering whether through this art

some light was shed on the chandler,

incense sticks drew the afterlife chart

or they were guzzled by the angler.

They say, candles were made to shine

show the way out of the dark

bring closer to the finish line

seekers with faith as their trademark.

Wick, either burnt or snuffed out

intact body or reduced to grout

molten cradle with a charred fetus

birthday candle smoke and then quietus.

Vertigo

Morbid sadness glides from happiness

endlessly, to apperceptive spiciness.

May it arise this occasion

your change in perspective

spoken softly in suasion

emanation of recollective

lesson in impermanence

filtered through your earnestness.

Austerity flattens all landscapes

navigation through a million scrapes

drifters on rocky planes traipse.

Trekkers, whom the slights

hound perpetually, but keep the faith

escalation leads to wuthering heights.

A chasm lies gaping, open mouth

between realisation and fulfilment

yodeling preoccupation singing south

snarky vertigo forces into concealment

meekly frozen in fear to take a leap

a shortage in faith or lack thereof

lonely and stranded on the steep.

Freedom is a scary wide vista

a tune climbing giddily blind

calls for lilting charisma

echoes start fazing the mind

tripping over notes to trove

somewither, push comes to shove.

Oh! Harken to the chirping sounds!

Follow them in leaps and bounds!

Incisive song like pickaxe tags along.

Treasure

What were the odds

joy of finding you out

amongst the billions of wrongs

my other half amidst the crowd.

Discovered same thought patterns

wavelength applicable to my existence

the one light outshining lanterns

flickering false signals in the distance.

Two glints sharing one heart

two spirits meld into one mind

living, thinking and breathing apart

distance is not enough to divide.

Connected from afar

breathing on borrowed time

in tandem at their prime

veins met in feldspar.

Astonishingly rare a difference

minerals who lock-knit

no outside interference

reactive compatible imprint.

Intensely and intrinsically

a paradox not gimmickry

crystals remain diversified

very different yet so alike.

Both refractory by definition

heat resistant and proactive

clamp down on their rendition

of spectra they find attractive.

Youth taken for granted

views toward beauty slanted

in front of ageing disenchanted

taking selfies to remind

of ex-masterpiece refined.

In the process of ageing

bodies become weak

only racy will do the trick

recourse be sightseeing.

Mind ever youthfully eager

innuendos passions trigger

envious of the brave and the bold

unable to carry out the task

we in our former glory bask.

Simple and crystal-clear

grovellers to the profiteer

for a piece of flesh

forbidden fresh fruit

becoming frail and toothless

the nature we impute.

Fortunes on escorts spent

to satisfy a body shriveled

physique and psyche bent

arm of crane swivelled

picking up desire's load

order that bad news will bode.

No matter the tension build-up

do not let go of my hand

lots of storms in a teacup

but things will go as planned.

Electing to walk down

this same path

growing old together

all in your behalf

settle down with me

as a minx retiree.

Fret not, I won't levy you tether

a fling won't care for you

warm you up under a sweater

jumpoffs will move on

pure love stays ageless and true

realisation you will come upon

while ending up alone.

Cherish me, in case I'm gone

on to a higher echelon

finding something stable

somebody who is able

to make room for two

sweaters can't be outgrown

cosy wistfulness feels blue.

One man's trash

another man's treasure

in no way a decision rash

solely blinded by pleasure

claiming you were a bad day

feeds more soot to your ashtray

we can rewind this old tape

or make erasure of each mistake.

Invernal White

Icy shapes were happy houses

for silhouettes of living seeds

golden nuggets a poor man dowses

but mistrals spoilt with cruel deeds.

Clouds turn, watching the cover girl

necks crack around a playful twirl

Chione flaunts her nacreous frock

runway held hostage by misty airlock.

Keepers of north winds in their curls

Kalaïs and Zetes using twin spurs

trigger the sky vault hailstones to bawl

promptly, heeding their father's call.

Glassblower makes shapes

realistic ice statues

via atomic freeze dry quakes

appointed consanguineous.

Craftsperson's frozen breath

old as time and space

earth enwreathed with death

moisture reforms to icy glaze.

Canny veteran shrouded in fog

frown lines amid cirrus brows

pinches frostbitten mortal jowls

crystals forming on the weather frog.

Wispy white locks in cyan scope

wise head doing a hair flip

creation turns into a snow globe

establishing old premiership.

Tiny bits keep falling

his geometric dandruff

shivers start crawling

down the spine, cut gruff.

They go by snowflakes

frenetic dance freezing lakes

ballerinas in white tutus

fractal curves entice incubus.

Glissade and assemblé

stretch and straighten in plié

sleekly so in extempore

rage blizzards of penury.

Tiptoeing on chilly ether

glissade, assemblé and plié

choreography by a bolshoi-maître

glissade, jeté, pas de bourrée.

Boreas spectates atop his throne

subzero temperatures' ballet

nature caught up in this cyclone

her pulse stops by fifth plié.

Cold-hearted Father Frost

gives a standing ovation

for the curtain call of holocaust

echoes create avalanche occasion.

The winged brothers' second act

mummified hills lain ice-capped

survivors' coup de grâce

belated hail pelting en masse.

Kindly, rain of icicle arrows

homed in on Achilles' heels

those tired of cyclic fallows

cash in invernal white's wheals.

While food runs out

the hopeful hibernate

through winter shakeout

life to reactivate.

Until this cold snap round abates

mother bears sleep with their cubs

under bat clusters on cave architraves

and whip-poor-wills torpor-fall in shrubs.

Glory be to the yellow star!

Solar winds thaw the bell jar

Zephyrus files a counterclaim

despot's billowing cloak aflame

snowdrops end a Hyperborean reign.

E.V.O.L.

What is E.V.O.L.?

Is it a box of chocolates?

A posy that pickpockets?

Beautiful and aromatic

or allergenic substance

your heart beats crazily for

drives the mind erratic

in invariable inductance

for allergens to keep their score.

Makes you wheeze

existence very wayward

an onion, multilayered

essential oils sting like bees

as every level peels off

salty droplets groove the face

due to its bitterness you quaff

ergo, it shifted to mace.

Undressed bare to the core

the soul sobs evermore

onion peels go bad

faith was not ironclad

petals crumpled by absence

whose weight feeds reluctance

sheets' outlines coloured in drabness.

Lamentable the lone companion

oxidisation of pseudo-stainless feeling

victim fallen for springtime scallion

ephemeral tandem ends in freewheeling.

Lies overloaded, vainly emitted
Lustful oculi vitiate emotion
Lispers orate venereal enmity
Lingering obsessions vitalise erosion
Lucky owners, verity's electricity
Like overarching virtuosity's echo.

Vilentine

Holding this glass

nervously on hold

foreseeable crash

so skip the prosaic

''Cheers to us!''
''And bottoms up!''

exhaust manifold

line in trochaic.

As an appetiser

dished cold cuts

sipping tranquilliser

wearing a blindfold

alcoholic spike

jackknife alike

a heart flambé

main course sauté.

Miles tailback on the tray

blocked romantic shunpike

lorry on the motorway

its driver lost on a hike

at the wayside a recess

hidden by ivy horseplay

for afters, glace à la fraise.

Spiked drink with poison

words of rejection

mouth spits noisome

vomit befouling refection

prepared with love and care

mandrakes give the answer

to heartbreaking insomnia

film noir projected on the cornea.

Your loyal servant

to a lass observant

blessed be me sommelier

taste buds swim in Montpellier

finest of old wine

for keeps better in time

heady sweet taste

washes down the toxic waste.

Aftertaste of kerbside sewers

malapert acrid connoisseurs

grapes' bunch of false wooers

chipped away at one

wooden heart chopped by hewers

moonshine glasses fire a shotgun.

Not an urge fetishistic

but true love spousal

no craving nihilistic

but true soul arousal

for we are not callow

delete youngsters shallow

replace with conscious people

in lieu thereof

love can be the steeple

whose bells will sound

mutual respect paramount.

Cut me up

and I'll bleed you

no measuring cup

can quantify my affection

you are my elixir

flower me, I lean

- my blinding sun -

to your direction

other perfect fit

for me, none.

What is it for

rivers of alcohol

hiding a shameful tear

behind potion streams

pages of a pamphleteer

sprawling lucid dreams

Shakespearean reworks

melodrama freeze framed

eyes stung by forks

for succubi to be entertained.

Janus

God of beginnings and fresh starts

little god living inside an empty house

belongings and decorations sparse

pot on the stove with half-cooked scouse.

Do porridge for obduracy

stew left too long on the burner

New Year's Day boisterous sea

alphabet soup for the slow learner.

A great idea to move out

change your environment

plan and design the bailout

forgo abandonment.

Connived at meeting the deity

ritual is Janus-faced

pretty penny realty

cold turkey leaves a bitter taste.

Reliance on beauty

dependance on the booty

addiction to bootie

and joy powder makes fruity.

Bargaining chips

make a good fist of damage

scrawly hackery scripts

lenience, a wasted bandage.

New Year's resolution

disrupted by head-turner

teaser in retribution

and serious heart murmur.

Chaotic, gasping for air

open to attacks

last year's debonair

under own nonchalance cracks.

Running away, in every way

in circles from your self-shadow

waiting on, wearing a chapeau

the release letter to arrive, apropos.

Irreregardless of your struggle,

new boroughs at ball and chain shuffle

provided your soul is captive

to a pattern ridiculously attractive.

Hemispheres turn like a carousel

sorrow succeeds another

ugly view hard to recover

from a hunger hard to quell.

Maze green with envy

a complex puzzle of the mind

lengthy trial of errors deadly

self-destruction got you in a bind.

Voices in the head

peer pressure got you misled

pretty lies hammered into the ears

new frontiers reduced you to tears.

Playing the victim card

sweet honey the flycatcher

ace of clubs left you retard

habit minimised your stature.

At the impasse of duality

bifrons demon overlooking

past and future finality

and the present without footing.

A bet with yourself to win

do the rounds of your darkest corners

clasp integrity with a safety pin

boxing gloves knocking out disorders.

Enter the ring to bust a lip

throw an uppercut against the heel

wrestling champion with an iron grip

mach punching till demons kneel.

Brick breaking so that walls may fall

answer the all-out pummeling call

and the hall of fame gates will open

new paths paved with gridlocks broken.

Return a living legend back home

to what once felt like a catacomb

then, flyblown place ready to give in

now, championship belt palace within.

Every trophy plate engraving states;

First the soul bids farewell,

postmortem habit goes to hell

hence, fighters crowned champions by fates.