Selected poems
To consider Chelsea Manning at Guangzhou Airport
1. Scoping
word docs surprise in the departure lounge
under foreign infomercials: the unrecognisable
pixels you are — fonts align
solvent cultures
from cabin to smoking alcove
the hour rebranded, air smartened, no biography necessary
is Triskelion not a drug?
diasporic maintenance /
movement the music of ideology,
try on breath:
beginnings, nothings, dwelling
on Chelsea's weak chin
& the edge on the air
2. Crescendo
doubt Europe's crowded skies
until further information
tepid rapport suggests itself
among those watching screens
from low places,
a sit-in
in the name of a face / here
it is the idea of Him that inspires
no more
the actuality of Her
and me
growing dimmer
as the distorted glow of
a new morning's haze
illuminates factories in the distance
as if deleted scenes
Lunar gardening
intense dimensions pose
alluvial conundra
with the fence line
spawned in late '05
prune on a waning moon —
it is the quarter
for root crops
under moons elsewhere
internal seed bearing fruit
retard growth
because of the decking
spawned in late '05
winter dormancy — a relief of sorts
but soon a visit to the lady on the fire trail
for moisture advice
barren ground weaned
in constellations
for a plausible harvest
and tendrils infused
with orbits