Larkin 25 - Crow By Dave Windass

There was a crow In our front yard Just the other day Nestling between three wheelie bins And discarded takeaway It scared me when I saw it As I know they bring bad luck It stood its ground And stared at me Couldn't give a flying fuck I teased it With a Vans trainer Gave it a little nudge Damaged, almost certainly Otherwise it would have budged I left it there And went inside Hoping it would go away I cared enough To wonder if I should Phone the RSPCA Ah, the internet Would hold the clues Tell me what I need to know "A death within is forecast If you see a single crow" "One for sorrow" Bloody hell I'd have to move it on Before it did its devil's work Unless Wikipedia's Wrong This crow was quiet and subdued Meaning Lucifer was calling Now wedged behind The recycling caddy This little shit Was stalling I moved the bins Out of its way Leaving crow and me Staring, as if directed By Siergo Leone I didn't want no trouble I didn't want to die But if it meant Not going to the crows I'd pierce this corvid's eye Yet, as the Romans noted That was impossible to do It crossed my path And with a hop Scuttled somewhere new Across the road Where it would cower Beneath a Nissan Micra I smile, and keen for victory I shout "I could've had you". Later, sat watching Britain's Got Talent I hear a car start, reverse Then a raucous call Echo through the streets Tomorrow, I'll discover that Finding a dead crow on the road is good luck.

Copyright Dave Windass 2010

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Fleas By Terry Ireland

They took away his body armour and he got killed by shot For the serving soldier just one ending of the plot. There's no dignity on any front line nor any comfort for those left behind, but the antics of politicos and their face saving rites, Read more...

Poetry Larkin 25 - The Child Killer By Pamela Scobie

I'll just take a walk, I tell myself, A little look around. I like the noise and the smell of it: The fairground. Hot fat, hot sugar, hot, fat flesh. Belonging. Being anonymous. Then I see him through the rage and din, Read more...

Poetry - You Never Said Goodbye By David Bannister

You went away that lonely day, You never said goodbye. I waited till the sky was dark, And I began to cry. Please come home soon Mam, I did say, It isn't very fair I never meant what I said, You know I really care. Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Hornsea Revisited (for JH) By Julie Corbett

The balmy, early morning Swirls and twirls in my gaze Primary coloured windmills In the salt tang air The waving, littered tide line Edges and hems the sand single, shell and cobbles Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Sounds By David Thompson

Beeching's decimation of the rail, Has left a leafy woodland trail, Once a branch line to the sticks, Took folks to 'With' for two and six, That passes close beside our home, A rustic byway free to roam, From dog walking and country hikers, Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - This Is 'Ull By Bronwyn Ellis
	I know the cracks in your concrete complexion, Familiar sights and a vinegary smell, I filter unknown through a sea of strangers, Considering streets I remember so well, I am the child which left your guidance, But still I visit all the time, And when my feet touch on your land, Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Wings By Rivelino

Shunned, unable to pick any of heaven's locks, an angel tricked by camouflage and a devil tampering with earthly clocks has his wings stripped by the devil's winds. Human history is mined by the angel Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - 'Oe Noe Joe' By Liz Healey

I'm coming up four And you know what's more For invention I've got a flair. But I just know I'll get an 'oe noe joe' And told to sit on the bottom stair. I sprayed Dad's veg Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Tit for Tat By Terry Ireland

Obama kicked ass good with the boss of BP. Now he's had the practice perhaps we'll all see ass kicked at Union Carbide about the Bhopal disaster, still polluting the land twenty six long years after. Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - The Dole Shop By Bronwyn Ellis
	Come down to the dole shop, With queue's of lifeless men, Lining up like soldiers, armed with logbooks and a pen. Come bask in their depression, The air is hushed and bleak, Each person striving to survive on fifty pound a week. The addicts claw their paychecks, Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Dancer in the Sky By Helen Burke

Today, I saw a dancer in the sky - And she was me. Well, obviously she wasn't. I use the term loosely, but something about The way she kicked ass, head-butted clouds The way her eyes billowed out with rain Then hoped for sun, Was reminiscent of this other self. This painted bird. Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Heed The Warning By Patricia Gray

They told us on the telly to use protection As that is the best way to avoid infection But I didn't realise while I was having fun The amount of damage which could be done Till I went to the doctors on that day and he looked so serious, filled me with dismay I'm sorry to tell you, you've got an infection Read more...

Poetry Larkin 25 - Calm Before the Storm By Malcolm Wilson Bucknall

All around a stillness settles, To cloak the solitude of night. Sombre skies hang gaunt and heavy, A calm befalls the fading light. Then sounds of thunder swell in volume, Lightning scars a crimson sky. Tortured winds increase their fury, Read more...

Poetry - What Happens Next? By Steve Johnson

Everyone's here. Everyone. Black and white, yellow and red, from leaders to the homeless. Some people watch on the television, some people listen carefully to the radio, As the tense reporters speak to the world. In the desert, the red carpet lies. The stage is lit, and the microphone is prepared. Read more...

Poetry Coming to a Street Near You By Mike Watts

He's got tattooed arms Thick as logs And struts around with Two big dogs Rottweilers All teeth and gob (To compensate his Tiny nob?) He goes to work Read more...

Poetry Larkin 25 - The Sound that the Librarian Heard By Amber Goodwin

It wasn't until the librarian was quiet, Seated comfortably in a chair and Waiting, that he heard it That particular sound. It encircled the empty hall, Seeping into the chair, the air, Moving through the house, its wall A sound that could not be snared. Read more...

Poetry Larkin 25 - Burns Night Hangover By Pamela Scobie

Rabbie came hame frae Burns Night In two thousand and three, Pissed up and looking for a fight, So he picks on me. Put me in casualty. I've never liked poetry. Rabbie came hame frae Burns Night Read more...

Poetry - Larkin 25 - Air Messiah By Ashley Fisher

Welcome aboard to Air Messiah's Flight 666 to Jehovah's Pearly Gate Airport. Prophecies are good and we pray for a smooth ascension. To ensure a pleasant passing over for yourselves and other passengers please observe the following rules: Read more...