Wednesday, September 18, 2013

THERE'S A SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE

(For Eileen, Nancy and Marie Barrington)

I used to have three aunts
Now I have none
Not one.

Not a single spirited spinster left
To people those Tralee to Dingle
Hair-pin nights
Full of Harvey wall banger hillman impish tales.
Treacherous bends always leading to perfidious Albion.
And finally
Oliver.
Always Oliver.
Then with Cromwell cursed
Rousing choruses of West's Awake
Puttering into Ballyferriter roaring Blasket sound

Stopping off in O Cathain's for the one drink
Or the dozen
The bar packed
All drinking the syphillitic shillings from Haughey's island
Our King, our Berlusconi, our Napoleon
But no Elba for that Chieftain
That Royal Republican
Now you’re talking
Talking furious words
Crossing the Guinness border
Dumping the Bearla
Digging up the Crested Ten
Preparing the Red Breast.
Words as gaelige
Sharp as pikes
That no clock would mute
And no-one would call time on.

I used to have three aunts,
Now I have none.
Gone
Gone
Gone
Those glorious Edwardian feminists
All Percy French Germaine Greer Father Murphy
Not one of the three ever missing the chance
To set heather blazing.

I hope you are starting to get my point
I used to have three aunts
Now I have none
How much more proof does one need?
That there is a fucking serial killer on the loose
And the weird thing is
I just can't seem to get anyone to care.

And even I
-never short of a phrase or two -
Don't have the words
Within me
To talk about
Whom
I
Think
He
Has
His
Eye
On
Next
.
There is a serial killer on the loose.
I used to have three aunts.

Now I have none.

















Van Gogh Is Such A Sneaky Painter - A little treatise on US-European Relations



VAN GOGH IS SUCH A SNEAKY PAINTER


(Electric Picnic Sept 2013)
Terrified
I
Stood
As the loud young American
poked.
Jabbed
Finger
at
Arles tree
"See"
Jab
Sweat
"See"
Relentless.
Museum surreal
No guards
No alarms
NOT YET
Don't mess with art.
In France.
Panic.
"Yes"
I say
"Yes"
I acknowledge
"I do"
"YES"
Phew.
Satisfied.
He turns.
With
Order Has Been Restored
Certainty

But
There will be no confusion.
No ambiguity.
So still gesticulating
at trembling canvas.
He smugly mouths
to Kevin shivering in cultural conflict
High Noon Sun
'Van Gogh is such a sneaky painter.'

'Van Gogh is such a sneaky painter.'
Sneaky.
Indeed.
Yank
in Jeu De Paume
No-one's fool.

Order under attack
So many decadent tropes.
God
damn
that
Dutch
Jihadi
The
duplicity
of this
Old Europe.
Give me
Iwo Jimo
for
Art

The
New American Century
Will not be
Subverted
By
Tricks
by
Spot the hidden faces in the Arles trees 

Sneaky sneaky sneaky.
Very VC Charlie
Poor Van Gogh
Sneaky sneaky sneaky.
Very surrender monkey
Poor Van Gogh

Poor poor Vincent
Poor Van Gogh

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

WARMING UP THE AUTUMNAL CHILL WITH ELECTRIC WORDS AT THE PICNIC

Reading 'What Chance Of A Sign Of The Spring?' on The Word Stage early Friday night at the Electric Picnic
Pix: Anne Moran