My arms flecked with brown stained with sun
I masticate a minty white cheek-filler
to cushion my teeth on the artificial sweetener
of endless growth & self-improvement
They sold out so they made up some more.
You tapped your reserves & there’s a green
rot replacing it & clag glue all over your eyes.
They’re bendering out of hours sipping on picked-off beer labels
exhaling ‘have you got a spare filter?’
But I only shatter & I can taste metal
& I can taste the sleep that I need & I can taste all the things
I’ve got to do that I’ve shrunk onto Post-its
But I steal minutes off the clothesline,
shooing dirt off the mattress staring at weeds
that have rooted in scooped-out pockets, unfurled
from cement
Taking the long way home I walk in fishtails
& stop to spin out a street view
to plot mango trees
& remember where I am going
I cut the corners off streets and throw down the crusts
to lay out of time or I re-consult the bus timetable
strategic re-routing pencil-shaving off a few minutes
but it all crashes into the ocean after lunch.
So I try and stamp a few faint hours on the time sheet
or blow a few curled words into empty gum packets
I meditate on latent thoughts on lateness
refresh my minted roping ideation to stretch out the indigestible wads
I found wedged under shoe
& stow them on receipt backs retired scraps
to unwrap a small-lettered tangle
Riding shotgun on the bus
I reclaim an acrylic blue-seated glory
to make the wheels stop & the talk hush
so I clamp my lips to savour
& fatten my lens
like sitting at the bottom of a pool
