Fragments of David (VII)

Fragments of David 

(VII)

Clicking inside the tension

the security guard had

been more interested in the United match

hoping they would pick up the pace

and couldn’t be bothered checking outside.

Abandoned he told himself

probably kids who had stolen it

or somebody who had left it to the pub

and would come back tomorrow for it

without failing to realise he was wrong.


(In addition today, a new session has appeared on Spoken Label featuring Pete K Mally. This can be heard / downloaded from here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here)

(Me and Amanda have also been featured on the Poets Unlimited Podcast which can be heard here and here today) 

Fragments of David (VI) and new publication / new music release on Slightly Off Kilter Records)

Fragments of David 

(VI)

Knocking at the edge of his dreams

he was married at 18

after meeting his wife when they were 14

only having eyes for each other

it was said straight from the beginning

carried in a sad love

when they nearly lost their first son

after his mother still birthed twins

leaving him terrified for weeks afters

to return to his job.


(Another Podcast has featured one of my poems Bad Neil Young covers in Nana's attic here, here, here, here and here. 

Slightly off Kilter Records has new released a new album called Dulcet Business 2 which features two brand new Ocean in a Bottle tracks 'Asleep in Space' and 'Space Dust' which can be downloaded above. I am really proud to be among this album as Paul who runs this label is a amazing guy and I am honoured to be on his label here)

Fragments of David (V) / New Full length Poetry Set / New Ocean in a Bottle single

Fragments of David 

(V)

When the ambulance

the Police told them

his van had been flashing in and out

for half a hour

with the floodlights

building a near noir mystery

glimpsed in the mist

under the bridge near Barton Dock Road

passed out in guilt

touching too close to the truth.




(Yesterday myself and Amanda did charity poetry sets for a special charity event set up by Eva 'A Night for the NHS. Me and Amanda had a great time doing our sets. My set can be seen here and Amandas set can seen here. Eva's page for donating directly is here)

 (I've also just released a new Ocean in a Bottle single 'Building the Bridges from Mars to the Asteroid Belt'. My new single is a side step at least temporary from its ambience rays into a tapestry of loops / delays with vocals and sounds to create a bridge like effect with layers and layers climbing over the top of each other until it feels like an orchestra of effects leaving you feeling like you are travelling over a bridge.

Building Bridges from Mars to the Asteroid Belt takes it’s listener on a journey uses the loops and effects to create a different kind of ambience than perhaps its fan would usually expect but would still gain as much pleasure in a somewhat different way. The single can be downloaded / streamed
from here) 

Fragments of David (IV) (and other news and guest post)

Fragments of David (IV)

Blowing bubbles under water

it was said he fixed his mum’s pipes

that was leeking all over the street

in about ten minutes

when he was only twelve.

Digging clues to his future

as he causally sorted out the problem

with the minimum of fuss

leaving both of his parents

spellbound for hours afterwards.

(There is now also a new Podcast on Spoken Label featuring a chat with Indie Publisher 'Fly on the Wall' (ran by Belle Kenyon - more below with the guest post. This session can be found here (Bandcamp) here (Youtube), here (Anchor), here (Itunes), here (Streaker), here (Castbox), here (GooglePodcasts), here (Overcast), here (Castro), here (Radiopublic) and here (Spotify)

We are on this festival today also (I'm on at 7pm and Amanda 7.10pm (Video Footage to follow)

***

(Also included below - a guest post from good friend to Spoken Label Belle Kenyon (from Fly on the Wall Press) regarding a really interesting sounding book) 

‘Birds Who Eat French Fries’ by Michael Maul

Michael Maul’s second collection is packed with humour and charismatic reflections on the puzzling nature of human existence, juxtaposed with the ingenuity of the animal kingdom!  Unafraid to tackle large topics such as hate speech and abusive relationships, Maul takes the reader on a journey which has all the complexities and wonders of modern life.

About the author

Michael Maul resides in Bradenton, Florida, living near Sarasota Bay. His poems have previously appeared in numerous literary publications and anthologies in the U.S. as well as in Ireland, Scotland, and Australia.

He is also a past winner of the Mercantile Library Prize for Fiction, for a short story set in Siesta Key, and his work was selected for inclusion in Intro 4, an anthology of new voices published by The University of Virginia Press.

Maul is a graduate of the Ohio University creative writing program, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He later held faculty and administrative positions at Ohio University (Athens, Ohio,) The Columbus College of Art and Design (Columbus, Ohio,) and Saint Louis University (St. Louis, Missouri.

Reviews:

“I received and am enjoying Birds Who Eat French Fries. Impressive!”

-          Ed Lathy, PhD. Former Dean, Liberal Arts, Columbus College of Art and Design

“I was blown away! I love almost every poem in this book. There are highs and lows, humor and pathos and poems that left me thinking for days. Honestly, this may be my favorite book of poetry ever. I hope to see more from this poet. A lot more. I know that taste in poetry is an individual thing, but I don’t think you will be disappointed if you give this a read.”
  
    Tim Gibson on 'Dancing Naked In Front of Dogs' 

-         

     BIRDS WHO EAT FRENCH FRIES

They just don’t care anymore,

bellies distended,

living like bums performing for tossed scraps

and Tater Tots

in fast food parking lots.

They were made for better things:

to float on waves,

to search for schools offshore,

or perch above the Earth,

to scan for signs of prey they enjoyed in former days.

But junk food birds have since learned

to open crumpled bags

and, with beak and claw,

to dine on human throwaways.

Pizza crusts or Taco Bell,

Mickey D’s, or KFC skin and bones

locked inside Styrofoam,

these are the tastes of sophisticated birds who,

after evolving from dinosaurs,

just took another leap ahead

by becoming us instead.

Fragments of David (III) and other news

Fragments of David

(III)

Sprayed out across the wheel

the Police thought it was a false alarm

when they arrived

all the way to when

they tapped on his window

and they thought

he had simply drunk too much

and he was too afraid to go home

to face his wife

deciding the van was a better option.



(I've also had two new poems 'Breathless Postcard' and 'Pluto' also appear in this publication which is going to coming out monthly
also today's Living Room Sessions include a old favourite from my days in Words and Music 'Edge of the World with Billy McKenzie' 

Fragments of David (II) (and more from the Living Room Sessions)

Fragments of David

(II)

Born in 1967

he was married by the time he got to 18

and his first son in under a year

then a second  before he got to 20

and a third some 15 years later,

and a job that followed him

almost like a well worn glove

of a plumber and handyman

almost as soon as he left School

leading to nights asleep at the wheel.



(Also live today from the Living Room Session is poem from my third full length poetry book 'Birth of Autumn' Sister in a box  and hopefully in the next day or two will be a new session from Spoken Label featuring a special with indie publishing press'Fly on the Wall'.

Also keep an eye for a new single from Ocean in a Bottle called Building Bridges from Mars to the Asteroid Belt which will follow around the same time and there is two releases on the way of field recordings from Ocean in a Bottle as part of Silber Records April Fields series)

Fragments of David (I) (and a new Living Room Poem)

Fragments of David 

(I)

Arms spread out across his wheel

the security guard who found him

thought he was in the middle

of a deep moist mouthed sleep

rather than what had actually happened.

The car lights were flicking off and on

in the early morning mist repeatingly

clumsily like from a string

before then suddenly cutting out
when the guard came out from the office. 

(P.S. - An new living room poem can be found here which contains four more mini poems from my new collection 'The Streets were all we could see')