Today I was a chicken
volunteering for the oven.
I am now a spicy blush.
I am neither a yellow nor a green pepper.
I am the devil’s anus, crispy rose petals,
the tip of Thunderbird 1.
I am the bottom part of a Fab ice lolly –
one that’s been doused in petrol and set on fire
and dragged through the street by its hair
to be booed by the elders
for bringing shame upon the village.
I am a lava orgasm.
I am a pig’s ear, a Labrador’s penis.
I am a red light telling me to stop
being stupid.

© Carl Burkitt 2020