The Ofi Press Magazine

Poems by Gordon Meade (UK)

Published in The Ofi Press issue 41

Thornback Ray

Unlike Stevie Smith, Ray

is neither waving nor drowning, she is

swimming. The visitors

who come to see her may think

that she enjoys being stroked, in spite of what

the signs at the edge of her

tank might say, but they would be

wrong. Why else would she have grown a line

of thorns upon her back if not

to discourage human contact?

Starfish

There is something

badly wrong with Starfish.

For some reason,

she has begun

to tear herself apart; first,

limb from limb,

and then, the heart.

The questions that are needing

to be asked, are not,

does she suffer

any pain? But, how on Earth

did it all begin?

And, after it has

stopped, just how much of Starfish

will still remain?

Squid

Squid likes to think of himself

as a genuine writer instead of what

he really is, a purveyor of ink.

Squid knows lots of different authors.

They visit his establishment for varying shades

of black and blue. Squid is not ashamed

of what he has to do to make ends meet.

After all, it keeps the wheels of literature still

turning, and his family off the streets