(On the day of my birthday actually - here are two of my favouite pieces so far following directly on from the last piece with a third piece from my Brighton friend Andrew Paul Smith - Movement in the Dark III)
A
Coughing in the sunset
the sudden burst of light
fused the lights
for almost two minutes
throwing everybody
in the area
to the ground
like they had been Rugby tackled
breaking windows
shortening engines of
passing buses and cars
freezing the village
for a good few seconds
before vanishing
like a magician's trick
and leaving two
what could be men
stood there in shock
while the world
shivered around them.
B
Standing
nearly in the light
They were
thrown backwards
Some of
them sliced
Almost in
half
By the
exploision
Like
molten ice melting,
Forging
their hatred
Into
steel
Before
splitting
Some into
dust,
Some into
the river
Never to
be seen again
And the
one
That
escaped
Into a
taunt line
Disappearing
into
The
nearby tunnel
Crying in
broken agony.
****
Movement in the Dark III
I tried to move with slight and ease
Not wanting to disturb a thing
Every muscle wanted nothing more than to seize,
Grazes covered in slime starting to sting
I had no sense of time or direction in here
Just my heart beating its impending sound of doom
And as the scraping sounds emerged once more something was
suddenly clear,
This nightmare was sure to conclude very, very soon.
It came with a speed far beyond that of man
My throat squeezed between elongated fingers and curved nails.
But my found resolve, I knew, would force me to fight back
as best I can
My heavier weight lifting it up despite protesting squeaks
and wails.
Desperation and anger found strength now unbound
As I flung this man-rodent against the tunnel wall
The crunch of bone and split of sinew a resonating sound
And then nothing, for what seemed an eternity, nothing at
all.
I waited a long moment, resigned to swift resolution from
the nest
But it seemed as if I was singled out by only one
And so I didn’t wait around to theorise this test
I had to act now, gather evidence and so for this to be done
The body was dead and broken, but easy enough to drag
so I pulled with all my reserve and might
As the bodies of my colleagues dimly came into view my legs
starts to sag
And I thought ‘what would everyone make of this grisly
sight?!’
At least I had the proof of slaughter
The beast with my friends' flesh between its maw
At least the police should most definitely give me quarter
Along with the statement of events I saw
As I started up the ladder, the light seemed so bright,
almost painful like a burn
The sounds from above so loud against strangely pointed ears
And my teeth! Growing sharp and long, and the thirst...for
what was this I seemed to yearn?
The thought of the public suddenly greater than all of my
past fears
I found myself sniffing the air, tasting a scent, my now
stretched nails curving around
Now I understood, from a clawing graze, this undiscovered
race, one for one, in this sewer
My fate now forever bound.