get in line

by

Driving down the motorway at 5.30 in the morning, I can’t help but think we are little more than sophisticated ants.  The central government plays the role of the queen ant.  We play the role of the workers, warriors, and consorts.  No one asks if you want to belong to the system.  You are born into it, and you either learn and accept the rules or you perish.  It is as simple as that.  Of course they dress it up, give it some clothes, and tell you that you have choices and that you’re opinion matters, but the reality is you don’t and it doesn’t.  Get in line and do your part for the system like everybody else.

beyond civility

by

You can’t trust people.  They will only let you down.  The things you say are taken out of context and used against you.  They will cut you deep with your own words and stand and watch you bleed.  I will keep my words shallow with no depth and no meaning beyond civility.  Was it malice or insecurity that lead to her betrayal?

can’t get enough sex

by

I am sitting in a greasy roadside diner.  The smell of cooked fat sits heavy in the air.  I know that when I leave here, the smell of grease will have crept into every fiber of my clothes.  People will think that I work in a kitchen. I try to convince myself that sitting close to the door might help keep the smell off of me.  But I doubt it will really. If food is hot topic for men, sex is an even bigger topic.  There is a piece of research out that suggests that the biggest regret in life men have is not having had enough sex.  They did a survey of old men who statistically didn’t have a lot of time left.  70% of the old men surveyed said that they regret not having had more sex.  They said they didn’t want more kids, mind you, just more sex.

the ugly one

by

She was the ugly one.  The guys never wanted the ugly one.

She sat and watched her beautiful blond-haired blue-eyed bombshell of a friend garner all the boys’ attention.  They had no idea what they were missing, leaving her to sit and stir her vodka lime and soda on her own.  Books aren’t the only things that shouldn’t be judged by their cover.

She wished at least one of the boys would like her.  She would do all those nasty things most boys only fantasized about in lad mags.  She would let them shave her bare and paint her tits blue.  She would even let them watch Blondie over there go down on her.  That’s right, she knew Blondie’s secret and they didn’t.  With Blondie, they had no chance, but with her, they could have everything.

But she was the ugly one and the ugly one never gets any attention.

where can i be now

by

views from my hotel:

I some times I get disoriented from all the traveling up and down the country I do.  Especially when I work with multiple clients on projects that require different skill sets.  Because I submerge myself into my work roles completely, when I have a quiet moment and nobody is around that I can orient myself on, I sometimes have a momentary lapse of reason and forget where I am and what I am doing.  I had one of those moments yesterday on the way to get a coffee, and I had one this morning when my alarm went off at 4a.m. in my hotel room.  Because the room was very dark and my head was clouded with sleep, I couldn’t remember where I was.  I had to work hard to try to remember the day of the week and who I am working for today.  At first I got it wrong.  I imagined it was Thursday and I was somewhere else.  It took a few moments for clarity to return.

19 and life to go

by

I am glad I did the things I did when I was young.  I lived hard and played hard as a soldier and a young man.  I see some of these young kids in the call centre and I think what a waste of youth.  I am working with a 19 year old girl and she is absolutely miserable.  She is not married, has no kids, no mortgage and yet she feels miserable because she feels trapped.  Trapped by what I am not sure? She wants to do things.  But she makes excuses for not doing them.  And I think fuck, you are 19, how can you be this miserable?  Why not go out and do something with your life?  At 19 I was convinced I could conquer the world and nobody could tell me different.

the creep back

by

Life has been trying to creep back into my consciousness. Or least all those things that try to distract me and pass themselves off as life – like death and taxes. It seems that when I live in the now, all sorts of other things build up in the periphery and at some point come into plain view and demand attention – attention i don’t necessarily want to pay, especially since they set my mind to worry and focus on things that I have the illusion of control over.

simple food for a simple man

by

I am back home after another week in Rayleigh. The hotel I stay in during the week only serves food that I have to ask someone what it is.  Yes, I could go out in town to get a bite, but my dinner allowance is mixed in with the hotel bill, so if I go out I’d have to pay out of pocket and sacrifice my free evening meal.  And who wants to pass up a free meal? That said, my priority this weekend is to eat caveman food – burgers, pizzas, ribs and chicken.

My tasks list today tells me that I have a ton of stuff to get through this weekend.  My mind, body, and soul tell me that I don’t want to do any of it.  Instead I want to sit down in my big comfy chair and read Will Self’s tough, tough toys for tough, tough boys.  Let’s see who wins.

cold coffee

by

she sits at the back
of Starbucks and stares
at the door, poised in
anticipation of her prey

she does not blink
she does not drink

her coffee goes cold

she could be an exhibit
in Madame Tussauds
i want to touch her
to see if she is real, but
i dare not move

my coffee goes cold

interview

by

Hey folks, hop on over to the Pen Me a Poem website to read an interview of me conducted by Edward Beaman-Hodgkiss, poet and freelance writer.  And feel free to leave a comment after you’ve read the interview and pass the link on to others who might enjoy reading it.

peace and love,

clay

‘just do it’

by

Before there was Nike, there was Dante:

‘Now you must needs,’ my teacher said, ‘shake off
your wonted indolence.  No fame is won
beneath the quilt or sunk in feather cushions.’

‘Whoever, fameless, wastes his life away,
leaves of himself no greater mark on earth
than smoke in air or froth upon a wave.’

‘I offer you,’ he said to me, ‘no answer
save “just do it”.  Noble demands, by right,
deserve the consequence of silent deeds.’

-Dante, Inferno, Cantos 24

prophet man

by

please mr prophet man
tell me what is true
I hear some say religion
is good for you

but i’m not sure
when in god’s name
they tell me bombs
and bullets are the cure

happy new year

by

“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make and end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.” (T.S. Eliot, The Gidding, V)

the guru

by

We bow our heads in quiet
servitude to the dust, our lips
form prayers to gods, who
long ago abandoned us.

We huddle together in a candle
lit room; frankincense, jasmine,
and sage, form  broken patterns
in the air; amethyst rock, lapis lazuli,
crystal quartz, and rose guard the
four corners of the room, silent
sentries and witnesses to our gloom.

Here we try to replicate
perfect peace profound, but
how will we ever know peace
when we can’t recall her name?

We close our eyes to quiet our
minds and search for peace
against the turmoil of the day.
Eirene begins to cry, she knows
we will not find her here
among these relics of the past.

The guru takes the mic.
He’s seen the wondrous light
and has come to lead us there
to death’s dream kingdom.

His words, mellow and sweet,
strokes the back of our necks
and lulls us to sleep, and deeper
we travel to death’s other kingdom.

The guru licks his lips and passes
the offering plate around, let us pray!
The guru smiles, he knows we will
not see the light, how can we when
our eyes are closed?

glastonbury 2008

by

“The past is what you remember, imagine you remember, convince yourself you remember or pretend you remember.” – Harold Pinter

—

I spent the day in Glastonbury yesterday. I went to visit an old friend and take in some of the sacred sites.

stand together

by

The soldiers tossed the chicken
Bones, they didn’t like his politics.
Strung him up on a cross and
Gambled for his ragged clothes.

Cancel the Second Coming,
The church has decreed, no
Heroic figure can save us
From our avarice, lust, and greed.

The twisted logic of confrontation
And violence are meant to be
Suffered in silence, let the ruthless
Gain at the expense of the poor,
It’s what free markets were designed for.

The bishop takes the podium:
“Stand together,” he shouts, “Or
We shall all hang separately in an
Economic bubble we can’t sustain.”

A dictator disposed in the gallows,
They didn’t like his politics.
Strung a noose around his neck
Streamed his pictures across the Internet.

A mobile phone exposes the insanity
Of our tricked out humanity, evolved.

my prezzies

by

  • delonghi waffle maker
  • the philosopher’s toolkit (baggini and fosl)
  • the complete works of michel de montaigne
  • alien and aliens dvd
  • snickers 5-pack
  • cadbury dairy milk double choc
  • small time crooks dvd
  • notebooks
  • socks
  • iron man dvd
  • poetry speaks: the poetry lover’s calendar
  • the incredible hulk dvd
  • and lots of love