Author: jim clayton

on stanton moor

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

we follow the trackway
across the moor
to the stone circle

it’s hat hot
stands of foxgloves
wild pink, high
against the rocks

this way, I think

nearer, a drone
strims the air
then – tents in a clearing
a pyramid of trash
two guys in dreads
one on a phone
happy solstice says the other

two elderly guys in round ranger hats
trekking poles planted
a woman cross-legged weaving bracelets
the power of circles
is this why we come?
drawn to see
to eat, and drink
while the nine stones
keep their counsel
deep set, slow,
further than the stars
me of no more
matter than
this apple core

not now satan

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

the Prince of Darkness
has a GSOH regardless
you can be darned sure
a welcome mat inside the door
Abandon Hope and Shoes
His Infernal Rack of Toasting Forks
with cute little stickers
What’s your Point?
and
My Prickles Tickle
Verily hath He
splashed out fiendishly
on Amazon and Etsy
for comedy hangings
to go with all the skeletons;
in the Room of Eternal Rending
hoary slogans neverending
like this wildly grinning pelican
Is It True Can it Really Be Lunch Again?
while in the Flensing Room
carved bone homeware
absolutely everywhere:
Scare Today Gone Tomorrow
Life Is Short – Smile While You Still Have Teeth
Please Don’t Scare Me I Poop Easily
while over in the Pit of Despair
He chooses the worst to furnish it there
a great, flaming decal to greet each new admission:
Relax
We’re All Crazy
It’s Not a Competition

death of a naturalist

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

saw a heron
with depression
stood there not moving
brooding
didn’t have a clue what it was supposed to be doing
‘if we’re lucky we might see a kingfisher!
it’s absolutely perfect here by the river!’
surprise surprise we didn’t
the river was 100% kingfisher deficient
saw a duck instead
most of its head
stuffed in its wing
and if I was a duck I’d be doing the same thing
saw a cow
wow
staring across a wall
I said hello; it said nothing at all
if I had to be brutally honest
this wasn’t the natural world I was promised
saw a fish called a trout
you’ll say humpback whale no doubt

had a diet coke with ice
that was nice

kintsugi

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

twenty years ago or more
Phil lived over the road
I’d see him smoking by his door
and I’d stop to say hello

he’d had a difficult marriage
did something in mechanics
he’d built a kiln in his garage
taught himself ceramics

I bought a saki cup he’d thrown
glazed in white and purple
the image of two fishbones
swimming in a circle

eventually we moved away
I lost all touch with him
till I saw him out in the street one day
and I called out: Phil! It’s Jim!

he said It’s nice to see you friend
and – sorry if it seems bizarre
but I drank such an awful lot back then
I’ve no clue who you are

eventually I read by his face
he couldn’t stay much longer
I felt like a sad, insistent wraith
he hadn’t the strength to conquer

                     * * *

a few months later, tidying up
thinking ten things or more
I accidentally dropped Phil’s saki cup
and it shattered on the floor

I thought I could glue it together
so I collected every trace
and noticed for the first time ever
the letter P on the base

grazers

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

this is a poem about an elephant
a bit on the thin side but still in development
written on a chromebook
a bougie kinda notebook
(my old one was shit;
you could barely manage a
dumb haiku on it)
the desk is made of walnut
all but
firewood
any buyer would
say no to an appraisal
but at least it’s stable
with a bit more character than an Ikea table
(I bought it on eBay
paid him via Paypal
I said can you drop it round
he said yeah okay pal)
it looks pig ugly but it’s sturdy enough
with a coupla drawers to store my stuff

so then
this elephant
which stands looking at me
suspiciously
but seriously
what do you expect
my writing to reflect
the truth about elephants in a scrappy bit of text
I don’t know
leave me alone
I can write what I want
in arial font
idly grazing on random grammar
just like you on the goddam savannah
but with grass not words
and me on my own
not in herds

homo commuteris

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

across the road in scavenged boots and hat
past slanting signs, rusting cars and that
to a grounded train in an overgrown station
a mouldy notice with old information
if you see something that doesn’t look right
which you do when you light your fire each night
to toast your toes and roast your rat
and fight to keep yourself intact
while nature yawns and slowly rises
tired of the lies and compromises
finally ready to close the doors
and commute you like the dinosaurs

lives of the poets

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what you need is an old time poet
with latin and greek who loves to show it
velvet cloak, creaky boots
big slouch hat, musty suits
tragic voice that’s just the ticket
eyebrows like a bramble thicket
who writes all day and goes all night
on moonlit walks round the Isle of Wight
for a nod from the Queen, a purse of guineas
seats on luminous literary committees
at Ulysses’ seat we bow to thee
dead of consumption at twenty three

what you need is a modern poet
in a two tone t-shirt
says
no go mango
shit
fuck
you made me
mother was a
moment
a west beach witch
her
teats
a tethering point
last gasp
gutter gimp
lov-e-lee
KKRRRAAANG
infinite
meal metal
mmmm

love beast trio shocker

~ jim clayton ~ Leave a comment

King Kong, Godzilla and The Kraken in a throuple
They admit it’s niche but it keeps them supple
The key is planning King Kong explains
and it’s not as tough as swatting planes
I was sceptical at first confesses Godzilla
I was always what you might call vanilla
Kong gets mad when his paws get wet
so we compromise to avoid upset
Mostly we just hang, play with trains,
decimate armies with uprooted cranes
The usual stuff monsters do
It’s just we do it in a three not a two
And the key to their happiness? That’s so tricky!
Kong’s quite hairy! Kraken’s slippy!
Godzilla admits to occasional flaws
sometimes reverts to fangs and claws
but they’re always open and try to talk
forget devastation, go for a walk
meet up for lunch with a hot bus or silo
stomp down the streets of New York or Cairo
Will it last? It’s hard to say
They wasted Acapulco yesterday!
There’s no such thing as a permanent structure
but they definitely feel stronger: paw, claw and sucker