Laura fulfilled her dream
And flew on the wings of a butterfly.

She took her shoes off as
They danced through the garden
As high as a tree tall and down again.

The green velvet carpet
Invited them down to bathe in the sunlight
But Laura’s human weight proved
Far too heavy for the tiny insect (obviously)
And they crashed to the ground
In a pile of blood and chipped bones.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

Inspired by Laura Mvula’s Green Garden

The hoarder hoarded everything:
His hopes
His dreams
His heart
And the stamps she loved from the ’50s.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

Dave Celery climbed off stage.
He apologised to the venue owner
For the poor turnout
Before fucking the oldest
Of the three crowd members.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

Leather Trevor
Couldn’t believe his eyes.

He scooped the ball out of his mouth,
Loosened his chains,
Grabbed his mother’s lead
And stomped out of the party
In disgust.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

The man with little money made
soup from things he found,
Like hair and glass and
chewing gum off the ground

But the thriftiest dish he was proud of,
the one he loved the most,
Was a bowl of his boyfriend’s thigh skin
and a side of shinbone toast

© Carl Burkitt 2016

The little tiny lady
Climbed inside her shoebox
And mixed her thimble of tea
With her miniature spoon.

As she nibbled on her biscuit crumbs
She dreamed about being bigger
And stressed herself out
Thinking of all the admin.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

The pantomime villain
Finally listened to the crowd,
Turned round and shot
The handsome lead in the stomach.

Did he bleed to death?
Oh, yes he did.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

I don’t want to be who I am tonight
I want to be you, with your chin
I want to walk above the world and drink the clouds
I want to pronounce ‘bath’ incorrectly
I want to drop everything I hold and pick it back up
I want to feel your blood
I want to be the backs of your knees or the crooks of your elbows
I want to think so hard I scare myself and plot my next roadtrip
I want to see the grey in things
I want to kiss the light and laugh at the dark
I want to share my gifts with those who’ve earned it
I don’t want to be who I am tonight
I want to be you
And see me how you do

© Carl Burkitt 2016

Inspired by a line in Are We Alive by Augustines.

Kerry’s boy was a
Right little monkey!

He’d pick her nits,
Swing from his tail
And stare through her soul
With utter contempt.

© Carl Burkitt 2016

Can you remember when humans were 12 feet tall? When they
Helped put the rabbit through the hole of your little shoelaces,
Insisted you got covered in mud, paint or pudding,
Laughed at your made-up jokes about vegetables or poo,
Drank fizzy pop through pink bendy straws,
Huddled inside your bunk bed den,
Orbited the world in your cardboard rocket ship and
Opened up your eyes to the love we all possess.
Do you remember that time? I do. Just.

© Carl Burkitt 2016