bitter jelly babies push around
tongue their sealy loll in wetness
turn over catch a snib
this chain supports oily unripe treason
chance a friend’s hesitation
sprung in rusty moments
hung there
a shake a cuddle a wiggle a huff
my water tidal off bodies
met a morph os is
rises in the frothy lip
falls in lapsing surf
grates on tongues
fibrosis shuts down all bellows
a medicated world revolves
until a better place is vacated
wag that tail
howl again and again
I come for everyone’s dinner
………………..
James Walton was a librarian, a farm labourer, and mostly a public sector union official. He is published in many anthologies, journals, and newspapers. His poetry collections include ‘The Leviathan’s Apprentice’ 2015, ‘Walking Through Fences’ 2018, ‘Unstill Mosaics’ 2019, and ‘Abandoned Soliloquies’ Uncollected Press 2019.