THURSDAY 13th AUGUST 2009.

Down the long track from you
I’ve travelled these many years.
On those wholesale modal nights
And scarce golden days,
Between seasons and cities,
Skimming the surfaces of standing water
And servicing drought guardedly so as not to drown.
Always you have been my companion,
Always available for advice or flavour or manner;
There to agree with or dismiss me
In equal measure, to prowl a back ally
Or broad street with and always as a mirror
To hold up a latest love to. An ideal to test
The rest against, and find them wanting
In one area or another: looks, style, mind, the list
Is as long as the line of contenders,
The boxes ticked as few as the view.

Lightening seldom strikes twice,
And virginity is even more sparing
With its share, so the chances of a man
Finding his way back to
Whatever sanity contained
Him are slight. But in the low countries
Of stumbling the slightest highlight of hill can either
Wilt you further or shelter until the
Storm passes and a new cast appears to absolve
You of any wrongdoing you may
Have intentionally or accidentally set
In motion. Though having hacked my way
Across the landscapes of this land, rags in
Hand, coughing grandly for salvation,
I’ve found neither help nor hindrance have left
Invitation for me to partake of any
Elevated replacement experiences.