ZKGs 2018-2020

ZKGs

(2018-2020)

 

 

Bestelle dein Haus, denn du wirst sterben

und nicht lebendig bleiben.

(Isaiah 38, 1)

 

 

ZKG1

 

four swans fly high

above the sound

they seem to know

where they are bound

 

they fly in an

ascending line

combine to form

a secret sign

 

they slowly slice

the sky in two

as on they move

right out of view

 

i have no way

possess no art

to stop the folds

that fall apart

 

 

ZKG2

 

the blackbird chirps and

trills away

he improvises

every day

 

or so it seems though

it may be

he shapes his song to

fit his tree

 

and seamlessly the

two then merge

and fill the space where

they converge

 

 

ZKG3

 

Mein Fall ist, in Kürze, dieser: es ist mir 

völlig die Fähigkeit abhanden gekommen,

über irgend etwas zusammenhängend

zu denken oder zu sprechen

 

from early on

i pinned my hopes

on words alone

 

so when they lie

there in my hands

like smooth sea-stones

 

bereft of meaning

this represents

a loss of faith

 

a gain of gravitas

 

 

ZKG4

 

get things done right now

i say to myself

don’t procrastinate

don’t shilly-shally

 

there’s so little time

but there’s every time

each and every time

every nowest now

 

 

ZKG5

 

the cherry apple

laden with berries

like notes of music

on branches of staves

pure Messiaen

beerenauslese

 

 

 

ZKG 6

 

midwinter

 

the rooks gyrate

above the tree

settle then swirl

flutter and flit

raucous and black

against a shifting sky –

grief that will not fade

colours that have run

done can’t be undone

made will be unmade

 

 

ZKG7

 

her breathing grows

ever shallower

till it surfaces

and stops

she is gone

 

she lies outside

in her fresh-dug grave

wrapped in her rug

topped with a white rose

less than ten metres away

a heart’s depth down

 

 

 

ZKG8

 

seize the nettle

nothing lasts or returns

until its sting is emptied

seize the nettle

 

 

ZKG9

 

knife-edge

 

were i

to shave my beard off

likewise my moustache

i would know precisely

where each whorl lay

the feeling under my fingers

of over half a century’s

intimate acquaintance

 

i would feel the loss

the wind in the no-longer hairs

the phantom pain

of wind in stubble

would stroke what now

was gritty skin

would incessantly

brush the moustache out

from the nostrils

pull the beard together

under the chin

in one firm caress

 

i put the razor back

where it belongs

until it’s time

 

 

ZKG 10

 

no path to stray from

 

there is no beauty other than what’s beautiful

no pattern formed by sudden glintings in the now

the need for solace makes no sense but is insatiable

no knowing why yet sparks of flint at sensing how

 

 

ZKG11

 

the 78

 

the pick-up arm weaves and pitches

as it surfs the groove

defies the idea

the speed is the same

at the rim

as where the track unthreads

at the endless inner circle

 

grief is my anchor

love the wind in my sails

 

 

ZKG12

 

the heavenly twins

 

two angry twin-gods

bastard and bollocks

share out between them

humanity’s woes

 

bollocks an expert

at causing diseases

in bodies that stutter

and splutter and gut

 

bastard the nasty

steps up the pressure

breaks minds like walnuts

with crackers unseen

 

up in the night sky

bastard and bollocks

wind their keys wildly

let go and then leave