The Silent Treatment

What you give someone with laryngitis
©cih16, 26.07.16

Bryant and May

A spark of attraction
A match made in heaven?
©cih16, 26.07.16

Nothing particularly

I’m quiet
You tell me I’m sulking

I’m self-conscious
Feel fat
Acne-smeared
Old
You say I should accept compliments

I’m tired
You ask me what’s wrong

Nothing
Particularly

But
Sometimes it is difficult to live in my mind
And to be inside my skin
©cih16, 26.07.16

Summer cold

My
Staccato
Bursts of coughing
Pierce the night

Wheezing
Woozy

Giving up on sleep

I

and my cold

Wait for daylight
©cih16, 21:42, 25.07.16

Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one

Sometimes a pencil is just a pencil
And sometimes it's a wooden spear with lead tipped spike waiting to stab...

And sometimes a pencil is just a pencil
©cih16, 25.07.16

Relationship Surgery

So I cut myself out
With the tiniest of scissors
Each snip and slice -
Concentrated,
Precise.

and you didn't notice
As I snipped away.
Too busy juggling your life
I removed myself,
Slipped away
©cih16, 09.07.16

French fields, July 2016

The whistle sounds
A referee's summons
The end of the game
Time to go home
Khaki-clad
The boys glance round
No football here
Just weapons
Just fear
©cih16, 05.07.16

(In response to the 100th anniversary of the Somme)