Beyond (2013)
Edwina Bridgeman
RED|BLACK
Piper Alpha, black tar evening.
Peer banter, trivia texts veer eastwards,
men stretched out like limos,
brew upon brew, rant upon rant,
photos of family thrown in the mix.
Dusk descends, the slow creepage of fate,
curtain lifts on hells retribution,
volcanic flashes cascade obliquely,
orange tentacles engulf scurrying ants,
structures topple like lego,
glass is whipped into panacotta lava.
A single hangmans rope sways menacingly,
death leap roulette, the red or the black,
odds or evens.
Ruptured pipes compress freedom,
roots to parenthood shatter,
time swims head over heels.
Tardis retrospective, oil as geological intrusion
into sedimentary shale. Tick/Gold star
Synclines and anticlines- double tick
neat units of memory,
hermetically sealed nuggets of truth.
MAYDAY……. MAYDAY
Minus coloured ribbons, silk smooth prancing.
Hardened pilots look aghast
but must reject vesuvial landing strip,
weeping saline tears; those with the stinging barbs
not easily removed.
An opportunist gull pecks relentlessly
at soft blubber dough smeared with Pollock drips
red….black red ……black
Friends feel the steam under the welcome mat,
staleness soaks the air,
imprints remain on the boards.
Like Titanic the platform slips with grace.
The wheel declines any more bets.
