Sandy Brown

Sandy Brown

On 25th March, around 7:15pm, four babies were born worldwide.
Meanwhile, our tap water had turned sandy brown.

At 7:20 I rang United Utilities and a disembodied voice called Keith gave me instructions,
When a man in Sheffield felt his heart falter with an angina attack.

At 7:30 I followed Keith’s instructions, “a shoestring trickle” and drove to Asda for bottled water,
While the war in Yemen entered its tenth year.

At 8pm, while a deep-sea robot off the coast of Peru discovered several new species of crustacean,
I put on a film to watch.

At 9pm I opened the first of two cans of cider
While 5¼ million farmed animals were slaughtered

At 10:30pm we went to bed, slept for eight hours, got up at 6:30 the next morning and performed our usual morning routines.

Overnight, a further two Palestinians were added to the body count in Gaza, Ghanaian authorities deported a family of refugees from Burkina Faso, five people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv and the northern lights were spotted over Vancouver.

At 7:45, with tap water clean, we left the house to go to work
And, in defiance of the previous day’s events, a newly out transwoman put on her make-up with shaking hands.

A ship named after Salvador Dali lost power, crashing into Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing eight repair workers.

At 9:25 a disembodied voice from United Utilities rang to check our water was clear, following which I picked up my flute to play,
While someone, somewhere, found their tap water had turned sandy brown.

 

April 2024

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phone

Phone (A trio of Triolets)   I wanted to tell you the lights had changed But you were staring down at your phone I wanted to tell you how much we’ve aged I wanted to tell you the lights had changed And how an oak tree’s leaves were arranged And how we are never, truly, alone I wanted to tell you the lights had changed But you were staring down at your phone When you were staring down at your phone What was it, that you had seen? Was it a place that felt like home When you were staring down at your phone? And was it better than standing alone Waiting for the lights to turn green? When you were staring down at your phone What was it, that you had seen? So, what was it that you had seen When I wanted to tell you the lights had changed? Did you learn with joy why leaves are green? What was it, that you had seen? And maybe you felt how connected we’d been And laughed inside at how much we’ve all aged What was it, that you had seen When I wanted to tell you the...
Read more

Start Again

Start Again I want to start it all again And not be reminded every day Of somebody who has died I want to wake up not remembering Who crocheted our blankets And why there’s a sheet under the sofa cushions I want to go shopping and recognise nobody And not remember whose milk I used to buy And who enjoyed cheap QC sherry I want to forget how to say ‘used to’ And ‘was’ and ‘did’, and instead remember ‘Will be’ and ‘is’ I want to discover new towns, climb hills And forget that I no longer need to remember Who might like to hear about them I want to cross bridges and turn corners That I’ve never turned before This time, unaccompanied by ghosts I want my tears to come by choice Like knick-knacks and gewgaws, locked in a box Opened only when I feel like it I want to fly into old age on wings of amnesia Caring only for what lies ahead Rusty chains broken around my skinny ankles I want to start again, and again, and again And not be reminded, every damnable day...
Read more

Grammys 2025

Grammys 2025 (a trio of triolets) We know you, Kanye West And your fragile, macho type Sticking out your chin and your chest We know you, Kanye West   Proud of your manipulating best Believing every word of your own hype We know you, Kanye West And your fragile, macho type We know you, Bianca Censori And the deadness behind your eyes We know you’ll be afraid of reaching forty We know you, Bianca Censori Desperate to hold on to security You’ll dive right into the gaslighting lies We know you, Bianca Censori And the deadness behind your eyes We know you, soulless Hollywood And your paparazzi prurience Holding only money as the highest good We know you, soulless Hollywood That nothing sells better than tits and blood Throwing artists on the fire at the very first chance We know you, soulless Hollywood And your paparazzi prurience   February 2025
Read more