POETRY

Chocolate cupcake crumbs
laughing gecko
Pays visits at breakfast
head raised sniffing,
I empty plate crumbs onto the table,
gecko grabs, scarpers with its feed.

Ant in waiting takes a chance
lifting its prize staggering off towards sanctuary’s
table crack
before pissed-off gecko devours them.

Sanctuary reached just barely in the crack
along comes stealth-like ant
pulling on the prize
dragging
cupcake and ant out of sanctuary
the battle for cake begins.
Stealthy ant determined to prise the prize
take what is not his
ignoring smaller pieces on the tabletop
it wants what ant number one has worked for.

The…

POETRY

“The heaven is spherical in shape, and moves as a sphere; the earth too is sensibly spherical in shape, when taken as a whole; in position it lies in the middle of the heavens very much like its centre; in size and distance it has the ratio of a point to the sphere of the fixed stars; and it has no motion from place to place” — Claudius Ptolemy

I look up into the clear night sky full of stories and wonder,
grateful am I for your vision giving me along
with others throughout the ages so much to ponder on.
Greek Legends…

POETRY

Resonating an infectious style
influencing others minds
philosophy of words your mantra
through pen upon blank white pages
colours of language bring life to space
beckoning ink after all this was made to be filled.

Welcoming words upon its surface
addicted to the flow of the pen
courting stares exuding beauty
within images tattooed upon its skin,
adored by readers enticing readings
over and over, feeding the page
fulfilling its ego willing all to come inside
read and read again until finally satisfied
before offering the next poetry instalment;
once you put out the cigarette.

James G Brennan 2021.

For…

PROSE

Ten years. Ten years!

No matter what bands I played in during my first 10 years
as a young drummer from eighteen to twenty-eight,
(bar the last one), wanted the Beach Boys drumming spectacular
“Wipe Out!”

Starting off in an alternative band playing our first gig
surfing sonic waves on the back of a trailer in a park
summer of ’84 playing Wipe Out too hard too fast,
forearms burning sweat pouring, feck knows how I got through that one!

Once I started, bands after summer of ’84 expected
Wipe Out and myself to come as a package.

“Yeah man…

SALVE: SHABDAAWEG

Dear diary, I find myself submerged in emotions I’d rather not.
I saw a man; no, a coward in a bar flirting with women,
filming his ugly charred soul to show off to his friends back home or wherever, while his girlfriend, feeling left out,
was sitting chin on hands at the bar.

I feel revulsion at this man. I wanted him to get into my space,
bump into me, knock my drink over; I wanted an excuse to knock him on his sorry arse. …

POETRY

Who is this mean fella chasing monkey with a club?
Poor frightened monkey climbs a barren tree
to escape this angry coward determined to catch
this monkey if it’s the last thing he will do!

Worry not monkey, help is at hand;
Buddha is on your side. With a little persuasion,
he will stop this cruel heart from hurting you
teaching him more than a lesson or two.

Monkey is set free while angry man shits his pants
promising Buddha he will never hurt another living soul,
to become a vegetarian for as long as he shall live.

Kind Buddha…