I wanna be the leader

try a new tack. Ifeel old wounds reopen.You see both sides. Isee your blinkers. Iam placatory. Yousense a new selfishness.I am a dove. Yourecognize the hawk. Youoffer an olive branch. Ifeel the thorns.You bleed. Isee crocodile tears. Iwithdraw. Youreel from the impact.

anytime to call would be the wrong timeI’ll avoid you as long as I canWhen I was a boy we were good friendsI made pies out of you when you were wetAnd in childhood’s remembered summer weatherWe roughandtumbled togetherWe were very closejust you and me and the sunthe world a place for having funalways so…

the nooligans ignored himhis voice was lost in the din‘The theme for today is violenceand homework will be setI’m going to teach you a lessonone that you’ll never forget’He picked on a boy who was shoutingand throttled him then and therethen garrotted the girl behind him(the one with grotty hair)Then sword in hand he hacked…

the sheets holywater deathnot a famous-last-wordspeaceful out of breath deathWhen I’m 73and in constant good tumourmay I be mown down at dawnby a bright red sports caron my way homefrom an allnight partyOr when I’m 91with silver hairand sitting in a barber’s chairmay rival gangsterswith hamfisted tommyguns burst inand give me a short back and…

I ask the lady in frontWhat are we queuing for.‘To join another queue,’She explains.‘How pointless,’ I say,‘I’m leaving.’ She pointsTo another long queue.‘Then you must get in line.’I join the queue.We move up nicely.

‘They are no sooner madethan they just disappear.I’ll build you a snowmanAnd I’ll build it to lastAdd sand and cementAnd then have it cast.And so every winter,’He went on to explain‘You shall have a snowmanBe it sunshine or rain.’And that snowman still standsThough my father is goneOut there in the gardenLike an unmarked gravestone.Staring up…