Excitement wakes at 5.30am
with a nose made up snot
and a mouth up for chocolate.
It cannot remember bad dreams
because daytime is real
and real is a chance to dance.

Carl Burkitt 2025

L’appel du vide is a French phrase
meaning “the call of the void.”
It’s used for intrusive thoughts,
like the sudden urge to jump from a high place,
but it can apply to social situations too –
like blurting something wildly inappropriate
just because you could.

Carl Burkitt 2025

If I had the guts to feel romantic
I would say you are an umbrella
in the boot of the car,
a shared handmade blanket
just covering my legs,
a bowl of cheesy chips and gravy
meticulously divided into 50:50 portions.
If I had the guts to feel romantic
I would say you are a Netflix-streamed fireplace,
a footstool in the middle of the sofa,
a pile of souvenir playing cards
from cities we’ve ever visited.
If I had the guts to feel romantic
I would look at you
and stop writing this po

Carl Burkitt 2025

‘Chrysalism is a sense of warmth, peace, and tranquility when you are warm and dry inside the house during an intense rainstorm.’

I wondered what would happen
if I put my finger up my nose
and pushed beyond the resistance.
So I did.
When I made it to my brain
I tickled memories of mistakes
I’ve made that lead to pain.
I prodded the dead.
I pointed at words
I’ve forgotten the meaning of
and scratched twice at déjà vu.
I stirred my finger like a wooden spoon
in the soup of my mind
until the lumps had gone
and I was ready to start again.

Carl Burkitt 2025

‘Brabant is the feeling of wondering “what would happen if…”’

It’s almost as if
the sky wants to be blue for me
the grass wants to grow for me
the trees want to stand strong for me
the broccoli wants to be good for me
the sea wants to wave for me
the eggs want to hatch for me
the moon wants to wait for me
the sun wants to dance for me
the stars want to stay alive for me

Carl Burkitt 2025

‘Pronoia is the strange, creeping feeling that everyone’s out to help you.’

Pirate Frank’s ship is a split-in-half tree
refusing to die. One Wellington boot
is a wooden leg designed to dig holes
in the mudbank island next to the river
behind our house. Both of his shoulders
host parrots because he can’t decide
which one he wants it to live on.
Neither hand is a hook because
he doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
His hat has skull with its tongue out
and dog bones. Treasure lies under
the filthy fingernails arranging twigs
into an X marks the spot.

Carl Burkitt 2025

I get the feeling
the squirrel losing
its nut in the football field is Graeme
and the Gladiators contestant
falling to the ground is Jim
and the salad lady with no
potatoes for my son is Grandma
and the guitar with no strings
in the charity shop is Scott
and the sun sent 10 years ago
is you.

Carl Burkitt 2025

Wake up: Three bowls of cereal,
Buzz Lightyear pyjama top,
Christmas tree pyjama bottoms,
One red and blue striped sock,
One yellow and white striped sock,
No pants.
A day of: Lego, trampoline, football,
Buzz Lightyear pyjama top,
Christmas tree pyjama bottoms,
One red and blue striped sock,
One yellow and white striped sock,
No pants.
Bedtime: No bath, two books, audiobook,
Buzz Lightyear pyjama top,
Christmas tree pyjama bottoms,
One red and blue striped sock,
One yellow and white striped sock,
No pants.

Carl Burkitt 2025

because
I made you cereal with milk like you asked
I made you carrot circles not sticks
I made you wear suncream
I made you not run by the pool
I made you wash your hair
I made you clean your teeth
I made you smile when you tried to be cross

Carl Burkitt 2025

I thought about vengeance.
The kind passed down
by tyrants
made of muscular power
and medieval hate.
I thought about pulling
down the sky
and making the sea shake.
I thought about thunder
and the exclamation of lightening.
Then you offered me
one of your mini Party Rings,
unprompted,
and I chose listening. 

Carl Burkitt 2025