(m22)

Photograph © Gerald England

across the ha-ha
and thistle-littered park
the river seems still

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Unpublished

(m21)

flying in and out
between the high thistles
red admirals

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Unpublished

Ode to the Avant-garde Poster

ODE TO THE AVANT-GARDE POSTER

This is a multi-part poem in MIME format.

it is time the walrus said
to have a crack at the painful
avant-garde poster

he likes his outlook free expression
it comes with natty stationery
and animated gibes
spewing miles and miles of code
how pretty it looks
on the screens of the blessed

he doesn't care a u-bend
how looks his double-gobbledegook
to sufferers of indigestion
hugging the bandwidth
like the middle-lane hogger
on the M62

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© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Gee Cross, 11th May 1999

Publication

2002 Fire (UK)

scifaiku 2

SCIFAIKU 2


full lunar eclipse —
the sky is now dark enough
to view the comet


© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 11th May 1999

Publication

1999 Romanian Contemporary Astropoetry (Romania)

*****
translated text into Romanian by Andrei Dorian Gheorge unavailable

Publication

1999 Noi Si Cerul (Romania)

[4y]

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 1st May 1999

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

Eight Eights

EIGHT EIGHTS

1

and though she knew despite her vow
the significance of the set
and how from that remote retreat
to make arrangements to keep safe
those who were given just a part
her own passage seemed pre-ordained
across a troubled continent
where even sisters can’t be sure

2

and the man on the bicycle
led her along the city streets
to meet someone from whom she wanted
that which could not then be given
and though she saw the second corpse
it only emerged days later
dragged out of the dark river
from which she knew she had to flee

3

and when in the height of passion
he called out not her own name but
that of her departed sister
her own rapture intensified
not sensing then that their child
would be born many miles away
across the sea and the desert
under the eye of one greater

4

and having secured two carpets
her advantage remained obscure
when the trans-continental car appeared
but only feet find dark locales
where hides the captive who can fly
to choose the one who will pass on
to follow footsteps from the past
venturing deep into the sands


5

and now accused of treachery
she felt herself free to return
not to avenge her accuser
but another whose treachery
was against herself and her sister
and having committed the act
it was by a double disguise
she herself was not sacrificed

6

and the singing sands tore across
reducing body shells to rust
so four feet transported two feet
escaping then by charter flight
unheeding the coded warning
only the biting of ankles
allowed their passage to the waves
but the dogfight wasn’t over

7

and having crossed first the channel
to talk in the gentleman’s club
she then traversed the atlantic
seeking the father of her child
before ensuring he married
the woman who could harm her most
yet held the key to her success
and she only then drank deeply

8

and after sailing up river
the long lost brothers met again
antique furniture was destroyed
international relations
were laid open to the world’s gaze
it was time at last to take on
the chance for immortality
the chance to bury the past and

© Gerald England

Composed: Rathmore, 5th April 1999

Publication

2002 Fire (UK)

(m19)

pied wagtail on lawn
sleek black kitten stalking it
— not a chance

© Gerald England

Composed: Mullinavat, 1st April 1999

Publication

2000 THE ART OF HAIKU 2000 (Hyde, New Hope International)

(m18)

mothering sunday -
under the weeping willow
daffodils open

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 14th March 1999

Unpublished

[5y]

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester, 13th January 1999

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

January 3rd, pre-Millennium

JANUARY 3, PRE-MILLENNIUM

Christmas was dull and only full of rain
then the cold was here before New Year tolled.
Beyond the mill-town, hills are capped with snow
where Sunday adventurers venture out.

Parked vehicles line the road where walkers leave
to take the precarious Pennine way.
Low ice-clouds driven by the bitter wind
keep Bleaklow hidden from our nearby gaze.
Past Doctor’s Gate, compare the bare white scree
to the brown of fir trees rising skyward.

Green-wellied children in slush strewn lay-bys
construct snowmen out of embedded cones
On the eighth of twelve days we start to sing
catching the mood, though a little too late

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 3rd January 1999

Publication

1999 Zimmerzine (Internet)

[5x]

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 1st December 1998

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review

scifaiku 1

SCIFAIKU 1

old sf authors
wedded to their typewriters -
internet luddites

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 30th November 1998

Publication

1998 Scifaiku (Internet)

Experiment 1037

EXPERIMENT #1037

Irony to the left
irony to the right
going round in circles
in the poetry laboratory
distilling vats of words
counting out the commas
adding up the quotes
subtracting all the clichés
dividing the syllables
into logistical heaps

all along the internet
electrons fly
across computer buses
dots that re-arrange themselves
into words upon a screen
interpreted by brains
that scan with eye and mind

all of it filters through
but little of it sticks
a thousand years of dust
composting a pile
of failed experiments
breeding pedant blind mice
running ever after
the buxom farmer’s wife

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Gee Cross, 4th October 1998

Unpublished

(m15)

over the flat stones
shadows of passing seagulls
flicker at my feet

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 28th August 1998

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)
2004 Karolina rijecka (Internet)

*****
Preko kamenjara
Sjene prolazecih galebova
Trepere na mojim stopalima

Gerald England

Translated into Croatian

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)
2004 Karolina rijecka (Internet)

(m14)

begging for bacon
the smokey-grey tomcat
purrs very loudly

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 28th August 1998

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)

*****
Moleci slaninu
Prljavosiv macak
Prede vrlo glasno

Gerald England

Translated into Croatian

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)

(m12)

drinking tea in bed
we watch blackbirds in the field
catching early worms

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 28th August 1998

Publications

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)
2003 Blackbird (USA)

*****
Pijuci caj u krevetu
Motrimo kosove u vrtu
Love prve crve

Gerald England

Translated into Croatian

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)

(m11)

three little white ducks
waddle through the farmyard door
B & B guests stare

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 27th August 1998

Unpublished

(m9)

below the city
a kingfisher streaks across
as the tour-boat turns

© Gerald England

Composed: York, 24th July 1998

Unpublished

Time Trilogy

TIME TRILOGY

(1)

On the cave wall
Trog draws his vision
of a future world
where his art
is arrowed
to the moon
then relayed
by boomerang
to a being
on the underside
of the earth

(2)

Wilma is wondering
on her way back from the Pterodactyl Ball
whether future generations will forget them
or even choose to ignore their inventions
only to reinvent them all from the beginning again.
She has been having this recurring nightmare
in which some catastrophe destroys them
leaving only the dinosaurs alive
to carry their culture
to future generations

(3)

the tracks of the time traveller
unearthed by archaeologists
spawn several theories
two new religious sects
a university honours degree
a professor’s resignation
and a slim volume of poems

© Gerald England

Composed: Salford, 20th July 1998

Publications

2000 Pennine Platform (UK)
2006 Other Voices (Internet)

*****
TRILOGIA TIMPULUI

(1)
Pe peretele pesterii
Trog deseneaza viziunea
unei lumi viitoare
in care arta sa
tinteste
catre luna
apoi retransmisa
ca un boomerang
unei fiintei
din strafundurile
pamantului.

(2)
Wilma se intreaba
pe drumul de intoarcere de la jocul de pterodactyl
daca generatiile urmatoare ii vor uita
sau vor prefera sa le ignore inventiile
doar pentru a le reinventa.
Are acest recurent cosmar
in care vreo catastrofa ii distruge
lasand doar dinosaurii in viata
pentru a le perpetua cultura
generatiilor urmatoare.

(3)
Urmele calatorilor in timp
neacoperite de arheologi
nasc cateva teorii
doua secte religioase
un titlul universitar
demisia unui profesor universitar
si un volum subtire de poezii.

GERALD ENGLAND

Romanian translations by Octavian Blaga and Florentin Smarandache

Publication

2000 The Fifth Season (Romania)

(m7)

the awkward silence
of the early arrivers
on opening night

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 15th June 1998

Unpublished

The Last Time Ever

THE LAST TIME EVER

1 am peering through blackness
2 am i feel your heart pounding
3 am your fingers running up my spine
4 am my beard between your breasts
5 am sun rising over the pyramid
6 am ordering coffee and toast
7 am showering together
8 am locking both suitcases
9 am spreading marmalade on bacon
10 am clouds gather over the street
11 am the sound of steamboats on the river
noon black smoke from belching buses
1 pm gunshot heard in the desert
2 pm you tell me not to cry
3 pm at the Art Gallery not looking at portraits
4 pm eating ice-cream in the park
5 pm the drive to the airport
6 pm holding on to your passport
7 pm watching the DC10 climbing
8 pm falling asleep in the departure lounge
9 pm a taxi back to the city
10 pm the silence in the room
11 pm closing the curtain
midnight will last for ever.


© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 25th May 1998

Publications

1998 The Writer's Challenge (Internet)
1999 Purple Patch (UK)
2007 Famous Poets and Poems (Internet)

*****
ULTIMA DATA

1 a.m. strapung cu privirea intunericul
2 a.m. iti simt inima batand
3 a.m. degetele tale de-a lungul coloanei vertebrale
4 a.m. barba mea pe pieptul tau
5 a.m. soarele rasarind peste piramida
6 a.m. comandand cafea si un toast
7 a.m. dusul impreuna
8 a.m. intingand marmelada pe sunca
9 a.m. norii se aduna peste strada
10 a.m. sunetul vapoarelor pe rau
amiaza .fum negru din autobuse
1 p.m. foc de arma in desert
2 p.m. imi spui sa nu plang
3 p.m. la Galeria de Arta evitand portrete
4 p.m. mancand inghetata in parc
5 p.m. cursa/drumul la aeroport
6 p.m. nedespartit de pasaportul tau
7 p.m. privind DC10 urcand
8 p.m. adormind in sala de asteptare
9 p.m. un taxi la intoarcerea in oras
10 p.m. linistea camerei
11 p.m. tragand draperia
miezul noptii va dura pentru totdeauna.

GERALD ENGLAND

Romanian translations by Octavian Blaga and Florentin Smarandache

Unpublished?

(m4)

two days of hot sun —
when our dog does her business
the long grass tickles

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 17th May 1998

Publication

2011 Time Haiku (UK)

Mayday

MAYDAY

A tanka sequence

The postman is late
he brings three pieces of junk
two picture postcards
a letter from your mother
and my tax return

Calling to be paid
our local window-cleaner
verbally attacked
by the little barking bitch
still wagging her tail

Coronation Street
interrupted by the phone
my son calling home
18 months since TBI
arranging to visit us

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 1st May 1998

Publications

1998 Mayday (Internet)
2000 Panda (UK)

Drowning by Degrees

DROWNING BY DEGREES

for Stevie Smith

Shrewd secretary secretly smiling
in your white socks and unfashionable shoes
you were never understood
by those who would flee suburbia
never taking the tube
to an office in the city

You were always Peggy from Palmer’s Green
to your authoritative aunt
living in nomansland
well removed from that sea
where the father you hated
waved in the salty water.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 14th March 1998

Publications

1998 The Self-Help Poetry Kit (Internet)
2000 Panda (UK)

(m2)

the horse looks skyward —
sends a neigh of approval
as the eagle soars

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th February 1998

Publicaton

2004 Sons of Camus Writers International Journal (Canada)

Waiting

WAITING

a solo alphenga

always the long wait
to see the doctor
at the eye clinic

blue flowers in a vase
starting to wilt

caught short
the little girl squirms
her mother looks cross

dreading the needle
middle-aged man shivers

early morning
terrier barks furiously
at approaching milkman

fog-bound passengers
phoning their loved ones

gulls wheel
behind the cruise liner
expecting scraps

holy mountain
hell for climbers

in the gallery
next to the nude
a portrait of mary

january sales —
city traffic gridlocks

kicking the habit
ex-smoker spits out
chewed up pencil ends

licking his lips
at the bride’s first meal

master cueman
escapes the snooker
and pots another red

neon lights flashing
above the bordello

only one customer
enters the doors —
the pub with no beer

preparing for her night’s work
the stripper gets all dressed up

querying the bill
angry diner swallows
the torn-up pieces

resolving the argument
in adjacent beds

stuck in the quicksand
tractors and ladders
work against the tide

tempted by salesman’s offer
her nest egg cracked open

under lock and key
his collection
of used underwear

vacuuming the carpet
her latest fetish

winter storms forcast
they struggle with tarpaulins
to cover the boat

xeroxing the plans
for the christmas party

yellow crocuses
emerge early —
frostless New Year

zealously guarding
his innermost thoughts

© Gerald England

Composed: Stockport, 27th January 1998

Publications

1998 Still(Internet)
1998 Thorny Locust (USA)

Class Visit

CLASS VISIT

In the City Art Gallery
a group of children
chatter and squirm,
snigger at the nudes,
disrupt the concentration
of other visitors;
the teacher apologises,
feigns disgust
at her pupils’ behaviour

Back in the classroom
other lessons than art
will be taught

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester, 27th January 1998

Publication

2001 Greens Magazine (Canada)

The Uncalm

THE UNCALM

as sky and moor merge
the distinction
between
hillside and cloud
blurs

we are waiting
wondering
just when the wind will
drop
and the snow
fall

shivering
anticipating
we hurry
to complete chores
hoping soon
to get back
to the safety
of home fires

there we wall ourselves
in
from winter’s
desolate whiteness

© Gerald England

Composed: Stockport, 17th December 1997

Publication

1998 The Endless Mountains Review (USA)

(f45)

writing a letter —
i stop to watch a robin
perched on the rose bush

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 4th December 1997

Publication

2011 Time Haiku (UK)