While Stocks Last

P A R A M E T E R by A.M. Williams | Make Your Own Book

The Bird

Take it, hold it, squeeze it.
This beautiful bird is rare,
extinct is as exotic does.
The smooth feathers so soft
as to be almost greasy
to the touch.
And touch you may,
Stroke softly and worship.
Look you may,
with eyes along every inch
of colourful plumage to tailtip.
This beautiful bird is yours
Take it, hold it, squeeze it
Gently and this moment
Shall not slip through your palms
Where lines cross like
unfinished Polish motorways
Hoping one day to meet.

And I Hover, Quivering

Shimmering barrels aim high
Shot, shut, shot down like a
Beauiful bird I drop.
Wings crumple and fold in
around my breast,
These skies are too beautiful
to hold me up
I need a little darkness
The inky drapes can
hold my weight.
And I hover, quivering
in the night
Looking down upon
the twinkling houses
Where ho-hum people
go about humrum lives
And I bask in the warmth
of their contentment
Which radiates out
from the rooftops.

Apres

Abject failure
Sinking sailor
Hold me
Bowl me
Throw me
Show me
Dusted down
Sucking up
Fuck this
fuck fuck fuck

Like a beautiful fight.
A beautiful fight.

Save for a Soldier

What Say You?
Say I
Save for a soldier,
There's not a soul on earth
With a strength so strong
as ours.
Swift as a swallow,
We will fly.
Fly through air, water
and rocks.
As we bowl together,
downhill entwined.
Toward a certain but
Sweet fate.
So what say you?
Say I
Take my hand and
Fall, fall without fear of flight.

December

Go forth brave soldier, go forth
We cannot save ourselves now
Armies will come, armies will go
And we will need their help
Howe we will need them
To march us away, in opposite directions
You head north, and I will head south
One day we will stop travelling
when we meet, at the ends of the earth.
And then we will know,
We will know if we can swim on
or if gravity pulls us back down
from our spinning graceful
Freefall through life.
I am real now, you said
But I was already floating,
Spinning, gone.

Mine Eyes

Weep O mine eyes
Hip bones become thighs.
These arms of mine,
have strength no more
So forgive me this;
My weakness, my core.