Time poems
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Days of the slow roll
© Ivan Donn Carswell
It was the days of the slow roll,
times when we dextrously dressed
our hand-rolled cigarettes
with a dearth of fine-cut tobacco,
Crying to be written
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Dawn has reached the ridges to the north and a thin
line of light chased the night west; it is the best
time of day for me a cup of coffee, Benson & Scud
pretending to sleep in their baskets at my feet,
Courage is a motherless lamb
© Ivan Donn Carswell
For a small child crossing the pen alone was a courageous feat,
occasionally, with a maniacal bleat, the wether would burst from cover
and butt whomever graced his yard. He meant it in fun, something
he had done since his bottle-fed youth, he knew no other form of greeting.
Clouded dreams
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Tonight Ill dream of stratus clouds and gentle rain
to drench the shroud that binds the earth in powdered
dust, rising in asthmatic puffs about our dusty feet;
and sleep I will with cirrus wings to soar above
the earthy things that strive to snare my clouded dreams.
© I.D. Carswell
Cherry bomb
© Ivan Donn Carswell
I said goodbye and went to bed to die;
I never knew that they had lied was quite
surprised they didnt seem to care, I agonised,
refused to cry although in time the tears
Carbonara eyes
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Nicky said I couldnt write, shes got a charming
sense of social etiquette given shes a bitch
(the canine sort, cant spell for shit or even write
a word) but then she has the most expressive eyes.
Faustus And Helen
© Arthur Symons
HELEN
Have I slept long? You waken me from sleep.
I have forgotten something: what is it?
Blame Katrina, or Larry
© Ivan Donn Carswell
You may have heard a dumb-ass claim that
Katrina, a hurricane, is to blame for current
stress upon our fiscal state, that petrol prices
ate their share but be aware of what the lack
of Cavendish bananas did when far too few
were found to satisfy the mad demand.
Benefit of doubt
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Its a ruling from the field of pain (devoid of antique nave,
a judgement process aptly named benefit of doubt);
youve encountered it without veneer in waning times
where referees decline to rule on what is dreamed
where benefits per se are favoured the brave.
Before the arthritis set in
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Its Wednesday, September 6th and a birthday,
again, these things arrive tediously on time
with wry regularity and sadly, no sense
of providence or charity.
At Feet Of Dogs
© Ivan Donn Carswell
At my feet the lapdogs of desire,
I wont greet their fawning, least not yet,
their foul breath would shrink a haemorroid,
perhaps Ill feed them oats with garlic
To Napoleon
© John Clare
The heroes of the present and the past
Were puny, vague, and nothingness to thee:
Another barbeque tonight
© Ivan Donn Carswell
It rained throughout the night, a truly welcome sound
that eases sleep although we barely slept we were
distressed by other things. Today the kitchens centre ring,
the kitchen of Anitas dreams. Its had a long gestation,
And you will claim
© Ivan Donn Carswell
And you will claim we need more births to keep
our population mix in check while natures truths
suggest there are too many of us yet?
And you will make the claim with good intent,
And The Piper Dreams
© Ivan Donn Carswell
And the Piper dreams as he pipes up in his mind
colours in choral horizons distant, of courtliness dimmed in time,
at the puddling waters edge he stands spread square and neat
and blows a lambent dirge, a frisson to the hatchling-surf
Almost taste the flavour
© Ivan Donn Carswell
It was a fat-tyred 4WD utility hard back,
the sort of ute youd expect a contractor
to drive, except it was plastered with tacky
stickers, and no genuine subby does that.
Ah, that Murphy girl
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Lets talk about the weather then,
would that help you take your ease?
Gossip is so rare from you
the noise of falling leaves is louder than
your breathing; if breathing is whatever is
sustaining you.
Ad Invasions
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Advertisements, theyve trashed the web,
somehow theyve gotten into bed
with common sense; ubiquitous
and so intense, insistent
Absorbed in familiar rhythms
© Ivan Donn Carswell
Absorbed in familiar rhythms,
carillon of senses steeped
in good vibrations, surrounded
by musical beat
