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James Austin

JAMES DOES ?TORI

POEMS WRITTEN FORRUMOURED SONGS

Dedicated to expectation

Copyright © James Austin, 2017

All rights reservedThe moral right of the author has been asserted

ContentsI 1846 5II SLASH PINE..................................................................................7III ALLEGORY...................................................................................9IV EVERY SHY TOURIST..............................................................10V REGRET.......................................................................................12VI GALATEA'S DREAM.................................................................14VII BENEDICTION............................................................................16VIII CATEGORY NONE.....................................................................18IX QUILL...........................................................................................20X YOUR COMMAND.....................................................................22XI PANTY POLICE..........................................................................23XII TEETH OF A SLAVE..................................................................25XIII SOCKET.......................................................................................27XIV BRAVA.........................................................................................29XV RED SUGAR WATER.................................................................31

Volume 289 – James Does ?Tori

1846 Build a wall, build it tall and strong3,201 kilometres long Don't care what it costsJust build it nowTrump, pretty-please Mr. PresidentConstruct it out of concrete… wireAnd keep the migrants OUT USMexicoUneasy neighbours since 1846Cement the alliance with barbed wireBricksBuild a war with somebody else’sTaxesWe have enough agricultural labourersAnd nanniesChuck has fucked his fair share ofAu pairs, now throw them OUTAnd keep them there Build a wall, build it tall and strong3,201 kilometres long Don't care about the goodwill lostDon't care howDonald Mr.-Make-America-GreatDon't you dare now waitIt is just likePoliticians

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James Austin

To prevaricate Keep the migrants OUTKeep the migrants OUTAnd giveOur own boys jobsFrom Ohio to Iowa to KansasUnemployment is highIn the Carolinas USMexicoUneasy neighbours since 1846Cement the alliance with barbed wireBricksBuild a war with somebody else’sTaxesWe have enough supermarket workersAnd mortuary assistants Babs has slept with half of Chihuahua Sucked their dicks, guacamole sexNow she wants them deported

6


SLASH PINE They go on cutting the trees downSuddenly you canSeeThe trees, for the woodThe trees themselves cry out The myriad of voicesSound almost humanA settlement of yore put to the torchAs the buzz-buzz-buzz of the saw isPrevalentSuddenly you canSeeThe trees, for the woodThe individual boughs being desecratedAs if we were pissing onIndividual saints They go on cutting the trees down It's abhorrent Beseeching the heavenly Father to stop hisAdam, EveFrom completely dismemberingWhat took hundreds of years to grow The cacophony of a civilisationIn declineA village of souls being slaughtered, oneBy one

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James Austin

The metaphor apparentSuddenly you canSeeThe trees for the woodThe trees for the woodThe trees for the woodSuddenly you can see trees, for the wood

8


ALLEGORY A way to explain every situation in a simpler wayA point of referenceAllegory An easily-digestible way to explain the shitWe are all going through, these days As the metaphors pour out of our mouths and justConfuse us A way to elaborate and not need a PhDA point of referenceAllegoryTelling stories to make a point, and an important one A way to explain every situation in a simpler wayA point of referenceAllegory An easily-digestible way to explain the shitWe are all going through, these days As the excuses pour out of our mouths and justConfound us The state the world is in and the people we'veBecomeAn easily-digestive way to explain we're all fuckedIf we keep on going down the same old path

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James Austin

EVERY SHY TOURIST Every shy tourist is going to be afraid to come on downTo Borough MarketEvery person is going to have an eye over their shoulderSafe no longerSafe no longerWe are not safe, any longer Every shy tourist is going to be afraid to sunbathe inSousse or Port el KantaouiWorried that a man with a gunWill interrupt their time in the sunWe are not safe, and in truth we probablyNever wereBut the perception is what we need to cure Every shy tourist is going to be afraid to sit in a cafeIn ParisEvery person is going to be fearsome and suspiciousSafe no longerSafe no longerWe are not safe, any longer Every shy tourist is going to be afraid to explore theMiddle East's nooks and cranniesWorried that some militant organisationIs going to take ownership of the KoranWe are not safe, wherever we goWere we ever?But the problem is that we can't remain here forever Every shy tourist is going to be afraid to come on down

10


To Borough MarketTo Borough MarketTo Borough MarketTo Borough Market

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James Austin

REGRET You live your life in regretFoesIn shadowAll those "should've-done"s and "should've-not"sFollowing you wherever you go You live your life in sadLonelinessYears eked out without companionsMemories, simply memoriesStored inCardboard boxesFaded black-and-white photographsAll of the people you loved, and lost All of the people you neverTrusted You live your life in regretFoesIn shadowAll those "would've" "could've" "should've"sFollowing you like a plague of locusts You live your life in sadLonelinessYears eked out without companionsMemories, simply memoriesFiled in mildewed cupboardsA compendium of disappointed disappointmentsTimes when you should've done a whole host

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Of thingsThe people who waited several seconds too longFor you to be what you could've become Every single person GoneAll that is left is the recrimination You live your life in regretFriendsOf iniquityWho plague your every single waking thoughtReminding you of what should've been

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James Austin

GALATEA'S DREAM It is difficult when you are born into the wrong sexAnd nobody notices A vagina, when I should've had a penisOr vice versaTo make matters so much worseI am the spitting image of Aphrodite I undressIn honour of LeucippusI pray, like Galatea, to the same gods It is difficult when you are born into the wrong sexAnd nobody notices Dreaming of someday becoming a manA real man, and not oneJust in mindMy body continually betrays meAs I move through the various stages of womanhoodI make sacrificeOf everything I despiseIn honour of LeucippusI would go to the sanctuary of Leto If it meant I could be born into a body I would willinglyOwnTo make matters so much worseI am the spitting image of Aphrodite So I am chased by suitors numerous

14


When I would rather beJust one of the boys Just one of the boysForced to use alien and unfamiliar toiletsAnd those godforsaken summer dresses

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James Austin

BENEDICTION I pray, I prayFor forgivenessA removal of sin since I am a wicked personI need benediction I pray, I prayFor understandingComprehension of my weaknesses andAbsolutionAt benediction I need benediction I need benediction The merest drop from the fountain ofHis purityBestowing upon me I am a hollowed-out shell with no soulNothing to make me whole A extirpation of all my base qualities Jealousy, greedFor no other soul was there greater needI have done terrible things, I haveLiedI have cheated I pray, I prayFor forgivenessA removal of sin since I am a wicked person I pray, I pray

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For understandingComprehension of my frailties andUnworthy characteristics No allowances, when I am in His presenceI need benediction I need benediction I need benediction

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James Austin

CATEGORY NONE You are in a statistical black hole, sonCategory noneCategory noneIn the eyes of the authoritiesYou no longer existHaving "died" long ago on one of their computers No national insurance, no benefits You are in a statistical black hole, sonCategory noneCategory noneIn the minds of the powers that beYou are a non-entityPerched on the utmost limits of society No dataNo existence You could commit a murder in publicAnd be released, for lack of evidence You are in a statistical black hole, sonCategory noneCategory noneAt Government HQ a serious glitchMeant that they hit the "kill switch"Losing several thousand lives, including yours No passport and no driving licence

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No ID Nothing to link your existence to me You are in a statistical black hole, sonCategory noneCategory noneIn the eyes of the authoritiesYou are dead, so have no rightsEven if you were to be somehow "born" again

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James Austin

QUILL You write, and you writeNight after nightYou burn the candle at both ends and you consume forestsOf paper You chew on your quill and you get an idea Before you know it, dawn is here You write, and you writeNight after nightYou see the sights, smell the scents of exotic, faraway landsWhile sitting in your chair Expend seas of ink in your quest to get thereYou are the conduit forA river of words, which flowsFrom your penIn the quest to get everything written down Oh how it hurts, being a writerA poet of proseWhen life is limited by twenty-four paltry hours You write, and you writeNight after nightYou burn the candle at both ends and you consume forestsOf paper You chew on your quill and you get an idea

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Before you know it, dawn is here You write, and you writeNight after nightYou hear the characters and their words in your headAgonisingly faint You know it'll take all nightTo know just what it was they said Your wife has long since despairedOf seeing you in bedAndBefore you know it, dawn is here And you have the germ of an idea

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James Austin

YOUR COMMAND A fuzzy monochromeBzzzBrrrrI call, I call, but get no answer Everything is in stasisAsleepIn its existenceWaiting for your command to, once again, beThe wind whistles through the branches of treesBut the trees do not moveAnd the windMakes no sound An awkward moment in transitionSilenceOh godIs this what we've become Everything in neither placeApologeticFor all of thisWaiting for your command to finally be freeThe storm rages in the skies up aboveThe quietest thunder I've ever heardAs the rain pitter-patters in an alternate universeNot this

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PANTY POLICE Everybody says "wear thatWear this"The panty police Everybody has to make someCommentOn every garmentPerhaps you would ratherI wear nothing at all?Regulate THISAs I flaunt my flangeTo all and sundry in the marketplace Everybody says "wear thatWear this"The panty police Always obscene in somebody's eyes Everybody has to passJudgementOn everything I wear outPerhaps you would preferThat I got my tits out?HypocritesAs you walk around in shortsMore often than not baring your chests Taking my cueFrom Lady GodivaCoventry, ?15th Century

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James Austin

NeverGave a damn, what they believed Everybody has their own infernalOpinionsOn my clothesSome woman would have me dressedAs a nunAnd the men, wellThey would rather I wear nothingLeering through disapprobation

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TEETH OF A SLAVE Humans behave like animalsWhenThey're encaged Turning on their own kindIn rageExcept the aggressor is the one who enslavesThe master with the whipAnd the slaves, and the farms Humans in power do vicious things Humans behave like animalsWhenThey're let outThere, there are noDifferences Rejoicing at the absence of overseersThe lash, and the pain, the day revolving yet againAround the master's wants and needs and various chores Humans in subjugation are powerless Humans in power do vicious things Humans behave like animalsWhenThey're encaged Turning on their own kindIn rageIf humans were birds, they could flyFly out of captivity

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James Austin

Otherwise it is the same dull day The shouts and the screams and the heatUnrelentingThe plantations of the SouthA nightmare to many Humans behave like animalsWhenThey're let outThere, there are noDifferences Rejoicing at the absence of rulesThe duties, responsibilities and severe punishmentsFlogged to death to serve as a warning to others

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SOCKET Find happiness, plug it inAny oldSocketWill doFind a single ray of sunshine in a heavy dayTo chase the gloom and keep depression at bay I always have the umbrella in the cornerSymptomaticOf myPersonality disorderReticent about joy, preferring instead to choose nightNot dayAs the rainclouds gather I am happiest in puddlesSplashing around in my wellies Find happiness, plug it inAny oldSocket'llSufficeLocate positivity and keep it in placeAs you struggle to maintain a happy, carefree face I always consider the glass half-empty, not fullRepresentativeOf myNonchalance for positive thingsPreferring instead sadness and the saddest thingsCyclonesDevelop off of the sunniest shoresExpected to happen as a matter of course

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James Austin

Find happiness, plug it inAny oldSocketWill do Find happiness, plug it inAny oldSocket'llSufficeI have kept hopeful expectations on iceKnowing that all I'll receive are disappointments

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BRAVA Fear turned to rage, at a critical stageViolenceThe only methodLeft open to herArmed with a bitter heart and an incrediblySharp knifeShe stabbed the fucker She stabbed the fuckerBrava Tears turned to action, all the pent-upFrustrationAs a woman possessedBrava severed his penisFlinging it in his faceBefore systematically tearing his innardsAnd humming the most macabre tunesShe killed the fuckerYes she did She killed the fuckerBrava Need turned to want, in that momentEcstasyOvercame everyOther sensibilityAll the years of abuse directed her handThe knife was sharpAnd it did its job well

29

James Austin

Weakness and desperation spawned a newStrengthAs a woman only canShe emasculated her manTearing his balls from his bodyAnd rooting her knife around his belly"The bastard must have a heartIn here, somewhere"He did She ripped his heart clean outBrava She killed the fuckerShe'd warned him she'd tolerate it no longerAnd she didn't

30


RED SUGAR WATER Taste the sweet with the bitterThe sharp shock ofBlood, bloodIn the waterRed sugar water Glimpse the violence with everyTasteAll of the exhaustion, tearsSo many people were forced to walkMiles, this wayMany died along the wayLeft where they lay, their life's-essence leached outTainting the water you now have in your mouth Taste the sweet with the bitterThe salt sting ofTearsIntermingledBlood, red, red sugar water Gauge the scale with everyMouthful Hundreds of thousands of people So many were forced to abandonAll that they ownedNo herd, no homeBereft and lost, they were senselessly cut adriftTheir villages razed for white settlements Do you have a conscience?

31

James Austin

Does any white man?Warm and snug in your mountain homesIt was incredibly cold in the Appalachians Bodies floatingDownstreamIn the very water you now drink from

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