No Fit State

Translucence is the perfect compromise      of light: the bouncer at the nightclub door who lets some through and turns the rest away      all beneath a leering, candlewax moon

Inside, a mirror ball splinters the light      shards of colour through a fog of dry ice glance off the sequins and glitter of dancers      ecstatic visions that wear off too soon

There was no rain the day after you left no clouds, nor sun to decorate the sky no wind to comb the branches of the trees that bore no fruit, nor blossom, scent or leaves

And as I lay in bed awake that night I heard a gentle tap against my window I drew the curtain back and there I saw nothing but a single blood-red rose

And I remembered how you used to say to cut them back in winter and there'd be a heavenly display when summer came and that there was no cause to feel afraid

Divine Eos, gatekeeper of the dawn, her heart to youthful Tithonus had sworn, but fearing her lover must one day die, begged Zeus to grant him immortality,

and this he did, but through haste, or for fun, forgot to make him eternally young, so Tithonus grew old but wouldn't die, becoming more feeble each passing day,

until Eos, grown tired of his lack of ardor, suddenly turned him into a cicada. And now, although summer and youth are gone, evermore shall I hear the grasshopper's song:

A strange thing happened in London today Big Ben chimed a full thirteen times resulting in chaos at Trafalgar Square with the coming-to-life of the lions

One of them climbed Nelson’s Column another ran off down The Strand one went shopping in Carnaby Street and then joined a rock and roll band

But the fourth lion had other ideas about what it wanted to do catching a bus up to Regents Park and the allure of London Zoo

Steps back to inspect the just-finished job looks good, no visible brushstrokes or hairs funny how they wanted a purple front door but thinks he can see the point of it now

Makes sure the lids are on tightly before putting the tins in the boot of his car the small wooden stepladder goes on the roof no one’s around so he scratches his arse

Drives home whistling a tune from Carmen first thing to do is feed the two dogs then outside again to knock out his brushes a cascade of colour on the side of the house

used to be prolific but now I'm just verbose used to go to parties and get kicked out by the host

used to lie in bed all day and think or read a book used to never get much done because of the time it took

used to meet a friendly dragon on my way to school used to be king-of-the-table in a pub where I played pool

used to be a dancer on a sweaty crowded floor used to be uncertain but now I'm not so sure

used to have a mum and dad who treated me quite well used to have some prospects but no one could ever tell

used to have a brother who wished that I was dead, he used to smoke too many cigs and that killed him instead

used to be a deckhand on every sinking ship used to snatch the wine away before it touched your lip

You grow up tough on the streets of Moscow the cold and hunger take their daily toll the history books say that’s why they chose me that and because I was female and small

I was just one of the three that were chosen for training, part of their glorious mission in ever smaller cages, days on end they gave us strange food we tried to hold in

The night before the launch was best of all I still had no thought of what lay ahead a warm house, children, and laughter within when in not many hours, I would be dead

Next day, they strapped me into the capsule one of them gave me a kiss on the nose the noise terrified me, the pressure too my heart nearly burst, the temperature rose

How I died remains a cause for debate lack of air, overheating — no one knows they put up a statue, honoured my name they knew I was never meant to come home

It was the middle of winter snow deep on the ground in the middle of nowhere not easily found

Inside, it was lit with kerosene lamps when the band got warmed up we were as tight as our pants

There was Dave on guitar and Dave on bass and Dave the drummer (yes, we were known as The Daves)

and me, of course on guitar and vocals hoping to win the respect of the locals

We were a little bit rock and a little bit country at one point we even got asked to play One Tree

Hill, although Dave (the drummer) doesn’t like U2 it never hurts to give them something to boo

but they seemed to enjoy the rest of our covers they weren’t hurling bottles like in The Blues Brothers

That I wouldn’t part with for any money

But people just laugh

And think that I’m daft