Aired
The ionosphere's
temperature changes spurred
me in my teens: Europe's
Cold War hate to listen to,
pocket radio by night.
Greenhouse gases lie
miles below that: troposphere,
closest to earth, smeared
with our heat and travelling.
Our smoke turned to a blanket.
See me reading up
which of those two things is which,
the Cold War long gone.
Radio's ways to listen
are more, and the hates they air.
Answers
No, not unlisted, listed in a spreadsheet.
They had to filter lines and hide columns.
They had to copy to a data stick.
They crouched over the screen in a guesthouse bedroom.
They crouched over it Darlington to Peterborough.
They crouched over it in two waiting rooms.
They got the sums ready for off in time.
Best not admonish them to keep spreadsheets
in strict perspective, means to a workplace end.
On Attempting to Transcribe the Calls of Birds
Sea! Sea! ship ship ship ship
Gulls deep inland feel the nip.
chopakaching? chipakachong!
Phonemes, spelling, away from song.
teeoo chapacheecheechee
The kite sounded like that to me.
teeoo wintu
shwipu shwipu
What birds sound like that to you?
chibatchbrrrrr
Not nailed accurate but nailed tear.
shfwh shfwh shfwh shfwh
The wipe sound has not rhyme enough.
Reality Check
Is it rope, or a repurposed something,
hose, say, or heavy-duty power cable?
It’s grey, with thin green line, and holds those bushes
back from the path. People don’t turn hoses
or power cords to that. But the reel’s mount –
yes, rope reels can have mounts. They say at sound
of hoofbeats think horses not zebras. Mounted
rope reels are horses. Not real horses, no.
Mounted rope reels horses, repurposed power
cables zebras. Hose repurposed to hold
bushes zebras stroke unicorns. That’s not
zebras stroking unicorns. They wouldn’t.
It’s between zebras and unicorns,
or both zebras and unicorns together.
And reading this are many who have seen
mounted thick grey rope with a stripe of green.
Stones
Something to do with photocopying.
Something to do with tapping babies’ noses.
Something to do with social distancing.
Something to do with singing in the street.
“There’s been an allegation made.”
Something to do with bikes and toucan crossings.
Something to do with things on the computer.
Something to do with money, with work money.
Something to do with that self-service checkout.
“There’s been an allegation made.”
Something to do with church and the young people.
Something to do with fifty years ago.
Something to do with social media.
Something to do with XR friends and demos.
“There’s been an allegation made.”
This poem was part of The Poetry Issue 2023, curated by Shireen Quadri. © The Punch Magazine. No part of these should be reproduced anywhere without the prior permission of The Punch Magazine.
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