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The Poetry Of.
George Anderson...............................................

I Wish I Lived in a Western Film

 1
I wish I lived in a Western film-
but not in one of those sickly sweet
Hollywood spun yarns
where a stranger with a questionable past
rides into town
with a lame name like Matt or Shane or Lance
& who heroically,
and against all odds
guns down the black hooded villain
saving society for the meek & the good

2
I wish I lived in a Western film-
but not in one of those nihilistic spaghetti westerns
the sort where children are butchered in cold blood
where you cannot clearly tell the good from the bad
where cowboys with thick moustaches
speak hopelessly out of synch
and who kill & rape & pillage
because they love it
& who sneer and laugh as they slaughter innocent folk

3
I wished I lived in a Western film-
but not in one of those self reflexive TV series
where cynicism and circumlocution triumph
where gratuitous violence and profanity
fight buck naked for commercial supremacy
where you can order on-line
celebrity coffee mugs, t-shirts & key rings
or chat or blog or download endless streams of celebrity gossip

4
I wish I lived in a Western film-
I'd wear a tweed hat and suave blue jeans
there'd be no need for guns or horses or whores
or saloon brawls or showdowns

There'd only be me, my partner and our quest for unanimity
and like Browning and Yeats
we'd inherit fabulous wealth
and we'd settle down onto our ranch
grow non-GM and chemically free crops
             and paint & com
        pose
co  n  tem  por  a  ry
lo   vep oet ry





At Lake Maggiore, Italy

 1
The boats rock gently on the lip of the crystal blue lake
The DINO, SOLCIO and MARIA LUSCA
'You want a boat, Sir?'
I shake my head.
Bloody hustler.

From my seat on the lake
I watch as wary tourists run the gauntlet
Past the flock of sea captains wearing
Tight white shirts, black pants & boots

'Why would you want to pay seven euros when
You only pay five with us?' Sorry mate, I'm not
Interested- his face glistening like an under cooked
Rump. Another sea vulture approaches, 'You wanna boat?'

2
I take the public ferry across to Isola Pescatori
the 17th century villa reeks of the aristocratic decadence of its time-
grand pretentious halls and gaudy subterranean rooms
which at each step shriek out
the title of a new poem: 'How To Ruin a Beautiful Island'

3
I leave behind the fridge magnets yesterday's panini
the wooden red Pinocchios the Michelangelo's David
boxer shorts with marble penises accosting tourists at
every corner & continue my ferry journey to Lovento

4
I sit facing the lake beer in hand the crowds pleasantly
Emptied. I imagine you sitting next to me admiring
the flux & glint of the lake. Feet shuffle behind us.
A gravely voice interrupting my abtruse meanderings:
'You want a boat, Sir? Only five euros?'.







I Wish I Was a Bluebottle

 I wish I was a bluebottle-
......... gently bobbing, in the midday sun,
........................................... drifting in a north easterly
....................................................................... edging closer,
............................................................................ & closer
.......................................................................... to your coastline.

I wish I was a blue bottle-
............................... spilling in a clear green arc
................................................................ breaking
......................................................................... upon your
................................................................................... crowded beach.

I wish I was a bluebottle-
....... listening to the strained,
......................... astonished howls of the young beach goers,
..................................................................... as they fling themselves
............................................................................................. from the sea.


I wish I was a bluebottle-
....... my stinging blue tentacles attached
........................... to the arms & legs
..................... or faces
.......................... of the scattering bathers-
.............. their hysterical screams
......................................... heavenly music to my
................................................................ welcoming
.............................................................................. arms.




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