Dancing Solo

stromness harbour

2008-08-06T00:18:00.001+01:00

stromness harbour
Originally uploaded by werewegian

Wet and Dry

I soared through the Little Wet with the clan, my beloved son, Pskr, riding the slip-stream close by my side. The whispers of the sparkle pack were returning faster now: we were gaining on them. At the head of the hunt, my three sisters began to separate from one another, splitting the attack into three groups to encircle the prey.

I veered left after the Eldest, Stpttr, flexing the pads on my tail to give me extra speed, while encouraging my son to keep up. Tkkrh, Pskr's shadow-mother, followed directly behind us, ensuring that if the calf should slip behind, he would be in no danger.

Soon, the sparkle pack glistened before us, and like the snapping flashes of the Mother Wet's whispers in the Big Dry, their bodies caught the light from above as they twisted and turned as one in an effort to escape our pursuit. Out-swimming them we turned abruptly to herd them back towards the other members of the clan. In panic, the sparkle retreated into a tight group, like a clawed crawler hiding in its shell. On all sides the clan swam in small circles, stopping any attempt to break free. We began to feast one by one. At my turn I swam into the churning pack with Pskr, trilling to him to catch each sparkle by the head only before swallowing them. Once we had all eaten, we pulled back from the sparkle pack allowing the remaining creatures to escape.

Sated, we rested for a short while. Then, sensing the murmurs of a blind giant in the Little Wet, we swam to greet the noisy creature and to play and dance in its slip-stream. I paused at the edge of the Big Dry to watch the dry-walkers on the creature's back. Like the fearless sparkle that scurry about the mouths of larger hunters, they banded along the top side of the beast, with their hides of differing hues, some shiny, some dull.

"Mama, why doesn't the blind giant turn over and dump all those things into the wet?" Pskr grunted, nudging his snout into my side.

"I don't know, Darling." I replied. "Without the dry walkers, the giant cannot swim. I think it needs them to tell it where to go."

"In any case, " Tkkrh added, rolling her body in comic fashion and floating down towards the bottom, "once a giant turns over, it dives and never returns."

Stpttr had started a leaping contest. I watched as she swam deep then surged to the edge of the dry. Her beautiful body shone briefly, the drops on her skin reflecting the light of the Warm Eye, before she twisted and splashed back into the wet. The clan whistled their appreciation of her skill. On the giant, the dry-walkers wriggled their feelers and made their strange barking noises towards where Stpttr had leapt. Others joined the game, and soon we were all leaping and dancing. Pskr hesitated, swimming between Tkkrh and me, while we took turns to show off and brave the embrace of the Big Dry.

"Why don't you leap, little one?" I asked my calf. He nuzzled at my side but did not reply.

As we left the Little Wet, Pskr and the other youngsters pulsed with excitement to be out where no flat-dry could be seen or sensed. We had felt the call to meet for many days now and most of the shadow-mothers were eager to greet old mates or to find new ones. I, too, felt a yearning for the tender bite of a lover but mating would have to wait for another time: Pskr was too young to run with the males as yet.

The clan was soon joined by other groups. Some, like ourselves, were clan packs of mothers with young. Others were noisy bands of not-yet-fathers with comic tricks and off-key songs, who by their bravado wished to impress the females. My eldest son, Hdkr, belonged to one such band. He flipped backwards out of the wet to impress me (and possibly Tkkrh), taking care to show us the sparkle-sized nick in his upper fin, which he said had been made by a white-toothed killer. The last groups were, for me, the most interesting: vagabond gangs of mature males. I greeted Pskr's father, Sttkh, with affection, rubbing my nose along his flank, and tapping the dry's edge with my flipper. He responded in kind, and then whistling, he cut a wide circle with Pskr riding in his slip-stream.

The Warm Eye dived into the Great Wet, taking the blue of the Big Dry with her, and a pack of tiny polyps began to glow in the Black Coral that was revealed. The White Eye, not fully turned towards us yet, trailed a strand of silver sea-weed across the surface of the dry. I could feel her gentle pull as I rested with the herd, singing songs of the past to my beloved. I sang first of my mother, who had been the leader of the hunt before my sister, and then of her mother, who had been eaten by the black and white killer. I sang next of more ancient mothers, whose songs we cherished, whose dances we still saw in the motions of the wet, whose nudges we still longed for. I sang of times before the clan chose their hunting-place, when they roamed the Great Wet, basking with the great tail-splashers and running from the sharp-toothed killers. Finally I sang of the First Mother, who, drawn by the whispers of the White Eye, had crawled into the wet from the dry, forever to swim and hunt. As my sounds died away, another took up the song from the beginning, adding the memory of her own mother before repeating the clan story once more.

The Warm Eye leapt and dived, and leapt and dived again. The herd glided through the Great Wet in a slow turn, breaking into smaller packs to hunt, dance, sing or mate. As the Warm Eye pulled the blue across the Big Dry once more, the herd began to separate. Tkkrh, who had vanished for a time, returned to the clan. She rolled to show me the fresh strands of teeth-marks branding her skin along her head and torso.

"If I have a calf," she said, "will you be its shadow-mother?"

"Perhaps," I replied.

With two other clans we headed back towards the Little Wet, singing new songs of lovers we had known and of calves who had chosen to swim with the gangs.

We were racing towards the sounds of a blind giant, when the whispers of a sparkle pack distracted our attention. We slid in the direction of the prey, snapping our tails to swim faster. Pskr chose to soar by his own strength, and I whistled encouragement as he cut through the wet beside me. When the hunt split in our usual formation, I was alarmed as he veered towards the right fin-side. I quickly changed direction to follow him.

We had just encircled the sparkle when a squeal of alarm was sounded. Whispers of strangle-weed surrounded us on three sides. In the confusion I lost sight of my beloved. The prey escaped the hunt by breaking into smaller packs, clouding the wet with their glistening bodies. My senses blurred, I raced back and forth through the pack, trying to locate the sound of my calf.

Tkkrh suddenly appeared from the thrashing sparkle with my Pskr riding closely in her slip-stream. Together we dived to evade the deadly weed but the whispers told us that it was now beneath us. We surged upwards towards the dry.

"Pskr", I said," you must get ready to leap."

"But I can't," he squealed in reply. "I am afraid the Warm Eye will swallow me."

"Tkkrh and I will protect you, little one," I whistled. "The Warm Eye will only tickle us. Now leap!"

The strangle-weed was all around us as we broke through the dry's edge. We leapt with our bodies still touching. A blind giant was directly before us, and on its back dry-walkers seemed to helping it swallow the weed. Splashing back into the wet, I felt something sharp nip my tail, but with a flick it was free again. We were safe.

"I leapt", Pskr trilled. "Did you see me leap, mama?" His body was tingling with excitement.

I nuzzled both him and Tkkrh. We raced away from the giant, greeting with whistles other members as the scattered clan regrouped. The whispers of the Little Wet reached us as the Warm Eye dived. Turning for home, we sang new songs for the sisters that we would hear no more.

END

cycle lane

2006-11-05T23:31:00.000Z

the sky is choking
gotta get you in a cycle lane
avert the unnatural hurricane
of a world grown warm

the ship is sinking
gotta get you on a fresh boat
avoid the methane trenchcoat
of a sea gone sour

the time to act is now, not tomorrow
tomorrow may never come

the land is breaking
gotta get you to a new plain
rerail the runaway train
of a race in greed

the time to act is now, not tomorrow
tomorrow may never come

© 2006, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

No More Mr Bay City Roller

2006-03-13T20:56:00.000Z

Tartan-trimmed terrors in the playground,
Girls with that red mohican hair,
Glitter paint, punk rockers to be

Into Bowie, and glam, and Quo, anything
But 14-year-old boys with a
Doubtful grasp of their sexuality

Out at the weekend with the senior crew
Watching X-rated horrors
drinking and getting stoned

Standing Mondays once more in the line
for History class and sneering
At the little men they've outgrown

© 2006, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

who's gone there?

2006-02-20T23:09:00.000Z

I'm dizzy again from the drink

I stagger to the close
And then stand for a while
Hovering between consciousness and dream
Leaning on the entry

How many times have I been here?
And who's gone this way before?

My father, my grandfather
My forgotten kin

Do I hear their low, drunken mutters
Their aimless curses
In the cold, February air?

Or feel their dead hands gripping me,
Guiding me in this endless
Reel of self-abuse?

I lurch forward again
The moment lost to me
The need to urinate and sleep
Tipping me home

© 2006, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Shadow of the Dawn

2006-01-14T00:23:00.000Z

Shadow of the Dawn

Your face is etched in the lightning,
One chance taste in the dark
Two dry lips to moisten me,
Setting two hearts to spark

We are born in the winter twilight
Our fingers locked in the air
We circle the danger before us
We mark our beat to the square

The shadows lurk on the edges
The death is there at the dawn
The flash of wanting fading
The negative of loving redrawn

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Spell Caster

2005-11-20T23:34:00.000Z

I was thinking of you
When I composed this thought
I was thinking of you
When I perfected this shot
See in the hand a sign
A design, that mirrors your line
I was thinking of you
Thinking of me, thinking of me

I was thinking of you
When I pictured this stance
I was thinking of you
When I plotted this chance
See in the eye a band
A command that flows to the hand
And you'll find you'll be
Thinking of me, thinking of me

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Wax tears of the moon child

2005-10-26T23:45:00.000+01:00

Tell me man of the water
Talk to me child of the moon
When are you going to bury
The heart that whispers the tune
Of a song of a love long withered
Of a chance that was thrown on the fire
Nail the lid on that ageing casket
And join the throng of living desire

Because these are wax tears my angel
That burn the skin as they fall
And you'll remain a stain in that window
Until you break the pain of it all

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Hanging the stars on the sky

2005-10-14T00:00:00.000+01:00

Hanging the stars on the sky
As the year builds to a close
It's not been too peaceful
But was it ever I suppose?

We can only wish and hope
As we pick out winter clothes
The next is the turning point
For making friends of our foes

© 2005, Alan J Stuart [Tagged as Poetry]

truth vs falsehood

2005-10-10T00:24:00.000+01:00

I once told a tiny lie
A little fib, a trifling tale

But now my arse needs an alibi
To get me out of f*cking jail

© 2005, Alan J Stuart
[Tagged as Poetry]

Causeyside Silver

2005-09-20T21:44:00.000+01:00

Silver splashing under my feet
Shivering sun down the street
Can't see who I might meet
Walking in Paisley

Silhouettes dance before my eyes
Buddies passing by my side
Might be strangers or allies
Walking in Paisley

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Open door in an alley wall

2005-09-18T00:17:00.000+01:00

Enter through a door in an alley wall
Enter and spy my discontent
See my cats, my painted hall
The slow dripping of a day unspent
In the muscled arms of a stranger
Or in the gaze of a loving friend
Hear my breath, feel the anger
Of one who fears a single end

©2005 Alan J Stuart

Negative

2005-03-26T22:52:00.000Z

Smoking hiss
Under friendly sky
Hot breath
Distant judgement day

Burning skin
Dived under water
Club fat
Clinging belly wall

Memories
Snapping photographs
Gold times
Seeded with heartache

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Love Angles

2005-01-23T21:59:00.000Z

You and me and he
Him and I and we
Let's make a human pyramid

Or should we block out the sun
Entomb our hearts in separate jars
Wrap our desires in
Bandages and seal off the air?

Him and I and me and you
A square, a spot, a circle
Do you want me as I am or how
you'd like me to be?

Shaping my love to different songs
Dancing solo, in a pair, with a crowd

But am I dreaming of flying, of
Spinning through 180 degrees
While yearning to walk on the
straight, painted line?

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

[Tagged as Poetry]

Saturday Afternoon Pub Crawl

2005-01-16T22:11:00.000Z

Another door...

Poster-paint walls, shiny
bottles rattling in cold cages to
the MTV beat

Sharp, metallic
laughter like gun-shots
pool-side Burberry glamour smeared with
gutter talk

Another door...

Giant screen above blankets of smoke,
married men mesmerised by
flashing football fixtures

Whizz and burr of
slot-machine, pinching every
last loose coin

Another door...

Menus written backwards on
opposing mirrors, sinks choked with
depreciating wine

Clack of freshly
rejuvenated luncheoneers in
this season's colours

Another door...

Faint smells: polished
wood, real ale,
dribbled piss from
the toilet doorway

Two old boys, one
gripping the other's shoulder, swaying
their goodbyes in slow-motion

Another door...

Dungeon decor
hair-fixated youth,
stubble + streak + piercing,
blabber and blush

Dark corners, hushed
deals struck for the
evening ahead

Another door...

Exist In Zinc

2005-01-10T21:32:00.000Z

Good/bad, unjustified lines
The bottom of a hand-shakened glass

Flat/rough, encircled signs
The zenith of a stead-fastened mast

Forays in human troubles
Trembles in messenger fists

Delays in touring bubbles
Crumples in passenger lists

Persist in ink
Doubting gold
Blond century

Exist in zinc
Sprouting mould
Fond mercury

Stalk

2005-01-06T21:11:00.000Z

Sweet

Nothing's good
Standing under the thin green

I'm invisible, Kid
On the edge of the thorn

There's western roots in my past
Faded, invaded, black

You
Look

But you don't see me

Light dies

Pale sounds
Reverse echo on playback

Mud

Dirty shoes
Walking away from the deed

© 2005, Alan J Stuart

Slaughter Tide

2004-12-29T23:50:00.000Z

(Indian Ocean Tsunami, 26th December, 2004)

A groaning hole
In the ocean floor
Whips the water up
Builds a deadly wall
Of deconstruction

A million souls
On the sandy shore
Meet the slaughter tide
Ride the churning ball
Of mass destruction

Now watching world
See the sea surge roar
Aid the faltering
Hear the anguished call
For reconstruction

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Donate all you can to Oxfam now

Territory

2004-12-20T23:06:00.000Z

You'll go far where money offends
With your shiny necklace and your boardroom friends
The night will hold no doors closed
But in the daylight, darling
Will you become the toast
Of the tennis circuit and the church bazaar
With your casino smile and the thigh-slit car
Or will they scheme to etch your name
In blood to warn others of your game?

You'll go far where beauty upstands
With your saintly fingers and your bedroom hands
The years will spread with gold scored
But in the twilight, darling
Will you dip into the hoard
For the neckline cut and the buttock slash
Or the Martini habit and the fat-farm crash?
Will he conspire to scratch your name
From his to take another from the game?

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Life Of Magic

2004-12-13T23:42:00.000Z

I came across a beggar man
On a dusty mountain road
His garb was soiled and ragged
His face withered, sad and old
I asked him how he came there
Where were his family and kin?
His answer was low and bitter
Where should I begin?

How I longed for a life of magic
Yearned for the art of the spell
An enchantress, a dark mistress
Sir, listen and I'll tell

In the forest of the east
Where the oak and ash grow tall
I found a ring of many flowers
Beyond a crumbling wall
On the pathway was a vision
Eyes dark with hair of red
Her hand beckoned me to join her
And gladly I was led

She cast a smile towards me
On my lips she placed a kiss
And my purpose was forgotten
No past life did I miss
The spires of the city
My father's farm, my mother's bread
My sweetheart Mary, all were lost
To that witch with hair of red

Then I lived that life of magic
Loved the art of the spell
Enchantress, dark mistress
Took me to heaven as I fell

We lay in meadows sweet and green
We danced in moonlit streams
She taught me how to charm the birds
She brought life to my dreams
We travelled over hill and glen
On hidden paths unseen
Till I could not remember where
My heart had ever been

A year did pass, through winter snow
And summer hot with sun
And all the while she sang her spell
Her beauty urged me on
Until one morn I found her gone
By a lake with waters cold
And on the surface I spied my face
Now withered, sad and old

How I gave my life for magic
All for the art of the spell
Enchantress, dark mistress
Turned a heaven into hell

I journeyed lost and in dismay
Another year was cast
Until one day I chanced upon
The old home of my past
But my father knew me not
Nor my mother hailed her son
And sweetheart Mary was repulsed
At the wretch I had become

So here I sit a victim of
The folly of desire
A young man in ancient skin
My heart a dying fire
Take my warning and resist
Eyes dark and hair of red
On a ring of many flowers
In a forest garden bed

Never sell your life for magic
Nor yearn for the art of spell
Enchantress, dark mistress
Will curse your soul to hell

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Rights Of Giants

2004-12-09T01:01:00.000Z

The valley starkly darkens
A colossus on the horizon
Blocks the suckling sun

We shiver in shock shadow
Eyes swallowed, feet shackled
Heart terrified to run

The hungry spirit spitting
Inside a flame flutters
Birthed by a jagged rage

Identify the capital I
Fight the right of giants
And unstop the frozen age

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Dream Fragments

2004-12-02T21:51:00.000Z

Characters in China
Characters on wheels
Fish and people swimming in rings around the Pope
Take a bite
Take a big bite
The whole banana is there

No lessons slip from the frog
His hat high on the ropey chord
The ghost walking the hot years
While eleven cinema owners sweat and
Evade the shells on the shore

I was in the match
I was in the match of the day
And didn't know it
And didn't know it

The bean is far from fried
Hollow inside
Like the joining of the shadows
Where the wet, inky feeling flows
From the corners of my brain

Chaos on kaleidoscopic tyres
Lord of desire and death
And grey, grey hollows
Where the fog and the day awaits

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Sonic Bloom

2004-11-22T22:38:00.000Z

Start every vocal low
Seed the timbres
Let the tendrils grow

Climb the volume higher
Thrum in spirals
Thrust a thorny spire

Burst the rosebud of the crowd
Swooping petals, spread out proud
Slash the air with razor notes
Echo the blossom in their throats

Let the flowers shine
Then fading, die slow
As the song declines
End again with vocal low

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Got My Missile Back

2004-11-15T21:04:00.000Z

Didn't know how my neighbours would like it
Now I got my missile back
Wasn't sure whether to save or strike it
Now I got my missile back
Waited here for a sign to fire it
Now I got my missile back
Might just let my dad admire it
Now I've got my missile back

Let's just build more prototypes
Now I got my missile back
We can show them to the stripes
Now I got my missile back
Get them busy with that order
Now I got my missile back
Roll them out across the border
Now I got my missile back

Shoot them first, ask for sanction later
Now I got my missile back
Iron the map and make it straighter
Now I got my missile back
History, make a place for me
Now I got my missile back
But as saviour or as enemy?
Now I got my missile back

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

The World Next Door

2004-11-05T23:04:00.000Z

I wanna go to Hawaii
Swim in the deep blue sea
Eat a coconut
Under a coconut tree
Be the person I should be

I wanna live in Tokyo
Feel the heat of that techno
Kiss a girl
In a kimono
Know the things I could know

I can go everywhere
Do everything, be everyone
There's no limit any more
The world is living right next door

I wanna dance in Caracas
Really raise a ruckus
Stomp, sing
Play the maracas
Laugh the way the world laughs

I can go everywhere
Do everything, be everyone
There's no limit any more
The world is living right next door

Love In Six Drinks

2004-10-26T01:16:00.000+01:00

Morgan's Spiced
Smiles as she sips
Hands slide down her hips
I'm hooked
Like a fish in a dish
That's already cooked

Tequila sunrise
Burns as we mesh
Fingers stroking flesh
We're fused
Like a bulb in a flash
That's already used

Vodka Ice
Glow as I joke
Eyes smouldering smoke
She's chosen
Like a print in the snow
That's already frozen

Brown ale
Frown as I steam
With each drowning dream
I'm strung
Like a bear in a trap
That's already sprung

Scotch on the rocks
Growl as we split
Mouths hammering spit
We've crashed
Like a boat in a storm
That's already smashed

Aftershock
Spin as I chase
Another shimmering face
I'm smacked
Like a bottle in a bin
That's already cracked

Sun-filtered Dancers

2004-10-13T22:40:00.000+01:00

The lawn is lush
As the music calls the dawning
Dew-softened dancers
Movements ushering the morning

Don't know where we'll be tomorrow
Could be here but could be gone
Whether heads of joy or tails of sorrow
First got to get this day done

The sky is stalled
As the music lifts the afternoon
Sun-filtered dancers
Movements spinning to the tune

Don't know where we'll be tomorrow
Could be here but could be gone
Whether heads of joy or tails of sorrow
First got to get this day done

The wind is wild
As the music rushes in the night
Moon-speckled dancers
Movements glisten in starlight

Don't know where we'll be tomorrow
Could be here but could be gone
Whether heads of joy or tails of sorrow
First got to get this day done

Brown Owl

2004-09-14T21:24:00.000+01:00

She was a cub scout leader
Ran the Brownies too
Sweet to the children
But mean to me

Ow ow ow She was the Brown Owl
Turned heads in the park
Eyes always watching for the moment
To grab me in the dark
I tried to light her fire
Never got more than a spark
Ow, Brown Owl, ow Brown Owl

Gave me a badge for loving
Sewed it to my shirt
Said I got A for effort
But D for skill

Ow ow ow She was the Brown Owl
Turned heads in the park
Eyes always watching for the moment
To grab me in the dark
I tried to light her fire
Never got more than a spark
Ow, Brown Owl, ow Brown Owl

And when we set our camp fire
And raised the tent
It wasn't on wayfaring
The time we spent

Ow ow ow She was the Brown Owl
Turned heads in the park
Eyes always watching for the moment
To grab me in the dark
I tried to light her fire
Never got more than a spark
Ow, Brown Owl, ow Brown Owl
Ow, ow, ow, Brown Owl

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Olympian

2004-08-26T22:27:00.000+01:00

Gatlin Gold 100m Athens

Another tick tip-toes by
Sweet little creature of time
Hang in the breath of the waiting line

Another crack thunders out
Strong brittle splinter of hope
Shoot at the smile of the waving rope

Another roar surges up
Hot fickle flicker of fame
Burn in the heart of the pulsing flame

Kiss Of The Fix

2004-08-02T23:56:00.000+01:00

Under the kiss of the fix
Over the top of the drop
Beneath the life of the knife
Inside the heat of the sweet

Beyond the jump of the pump
Before the twitch of the switch
Between the shake and the brake
Below the feel of the real

The memory melts the brain away
The image scorches the eyes
There is no now
There is no then
There is no way to begin again

Across the tear of the fair
Around the flight of the night
Against the turn of the burn
Above the nil of the kill

Between the shake and the brake
Below the feel of the real
Over the top of the drop
Under the kiss of the fix

The memory melts the brain away
The image scorches the eyes
There is no now
There is no then
There is no way to begin again
No way to begin again

March In Threes

2004-07-22T23:01:00.000+01:00

The animals went in two-by-two
But should that apply to me and you?
Walk the path well worn by all
To come around and stand stock still

Stay in line
Fade don't shine
Wear your father's shoes
Imitate, don't innovate
Keep on marching in twos

The cycle of war and death will spin
Fueled by greed and the lust to win
March the path of the past once more
Or run on the grass, play double dare

Break the line
Don't fade, shine
Let your feet run free
Radiate, don't capitulate
Why not march in threes?

For today is made on the bones of our fathers
Who marched in the shadows of a general's outstretched hand
Through mud and blood to their untimely deaths
All for the sake of kings and politicians' plans

The cycle of war and death will crash
If we cast aside the whip and the cash
Walk the well-worn path no more
Run on the grass, play double dare

Break the line
Don't fade, SHINE
Let your heart unfreeze
Radiate, don't capitulate
Why not march in threes?

© 2004, Alan J Stuart

Madness

2004-07-19T23:03:00.000+01:00

Darkness, darkness, darkness

Hiding away from the day
Burning embers of ash at the ends of an endless stream of cigarettes
Eyes drawn into the past
Afraid to turn away

Ever darkness, darkness, darkness

Sitting alone in the night
Choking for breath from the fumes of an endless stream of coffee
Hands grasping the past
Afraid to let it go