Putting the Horror Movie in Context

PUTTING THE HORROR MOVIE IN CONTEXT

tensions of the night
preventing sleep
we go downstairs
disturb the dog
share tea and cake
with the "Vampire of Venice"
gape as his victim
throws herself from a pinnacle
then wakes up
not with broken back
but naked in his chamber
blood dribbling from mouth

as the television breaks
to a commercial
for washing-up liquid
we laugh - return to bed
equipped to deal
with our own demons

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 17th November 1993

Publications

1994 Weyfarers (UK)
1994 Mobius (USA)
1996 The Affiliate (Canada)
1997 Gallery Zandstraat (Internet)
1998 LIMBO TIME (Hyde, New Hope International)

[5q]

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 25th February 1993

Publications

1996 Quickenings (USA)
1996 Mobius (MI, USA)
1997 Lateral Moves (UK)

Purification

PURIFICATION

In order to purify 1:4-dioxan,
first you add a tenth of its volume
of 14% hydrochloric acid
and reflux it overnight
whilst steadily bubbling through it
a slow stream of nitrogen
Next morning you cool it down
and shake it up with KOH
until no more pellets will dissolve
Having removed the aqueous layer,
to dry it out further,
you leave it to stand
over fresh KOH
for fully twenty-four hours
Then you reflux it once more
over excess sodium
overnight
and finally you distill it
from sodium
Its boiling point
at 760mm of mercury pressure
is 101 degrees C
Store it out of contact with air

Other things
are not
so easily
purified
Take Diana's love for instance
Lack of air only stifles it
and it can't be refluxed
for it doesn't always boil
at an even temperature

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 1st January 1972

Publications

1993 Mobius (MI, USA)
1998 Snakeskin (Internet)

The Peasant, after Van Gogh

(image courtesy of Olga's Gallery)
"THE PEASANT" AFTER VAN GOGH

Little changes in the country
Tillage of the earth
provides merely a scrap of living
But the face is of one resigned
to the receipt of scraps
Half-piercing eyes
can see beyond the superficial
But the hands are much
much too old and wrinkled
to stretch out
at certain rebuff
Years of setback
harvests ruined by too much rain
or too much sun
interspersed with bumper years
of fine harvests
good wine to drink
and hope for the future
have combined to form
this heavy brow
and old grey beard
wondering just how many warm summers
and how many winters
are yet to be endured
For little changes good or bad
in the country

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Glasgow, 10th August 1967

Publications

1968 Platform (UK)
1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1987 POETS FOR AFRICA (Las Vegas, Family of God)
1993 Mobius (MI, USA)
1997 The Writer's Home Page (Internet)
1997 The Pink Cadillac Review (Internet)

On An Early Morning Walk Through The Park To The City

ON AN EARLY MORNING WALK
THROUGH THE PARK TO THE CITY

I stood and watched as the lights played
on the waters of the Kelvin;
the lights of houses on Dumbarton Road
in the background
It was still dark
but sun was beginning to dispel
the frostiness of night
In the open park — a beautiful scene —
the bare-limbed trees standing against the sky
the cold winds reminding
- it is December -
I did not stand for long
but wrapping my scarf
securely round my neck
walked on
At every step the sky
lightened as the sun climbed
The only other person I passed in the park
did not return my "Good Morning!" — I supposed
that was what came of living in a city
or perhaps he was just cold
and not in a very good mood
I walked into the lights of Sauchiehall Street
where cars were already on the move
and pedestrian numbers increased
as the small hand crept towards eight

And the darkness was soon all gone
'Day' was the term in use
The city was awake
but I was falling back to sleep

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Glasgow, 1st December 1966

Publications

1988 The White Rose Literary Magazine (UK)
1996 Mobius (MI, USA)