Five Poems by Bradford Middleton

 

THE WARMTH OF THE SUN

 

The sun, the warm glorious

Sun came today & I went

& I basked in it & felt my mood

Improve & I inhaled the smoke

Of the crusty sat just down from

Me & for the first time in five

Long days the world seemed

Just right as all around the

Masses walked on pass & me

& my mate just sat & shot the

Shit as the sun covered us in

Beautiful glorious warmth

Until I had to go home & hide.

 

 

THE SUN CAME TODAY (and the breeze carried my mood)

 

As the sun came out today, at last releasing itself

From behind the confines of that seemingly

Perpetual dark cloud, the world suddenly seemed

Like a much better & kinder place and as I went

Out to walk, all the way down to the marina with

Just the intention of walking, I had one of those

Truly rare moments of wonder when I realised

Oh fuck yes this is truly beautiful.

 

 

A ROUTINE IN LOCK-DOWN

 

A new routine has somehow come

To rule this life as an early morning

Rise is now a regular fixture but the

Old ways still hold firm in some

Regards as soon some tea and a smoke

Will come to save the morning before, even at

The ungodly hour of 08:08, my

Old mind will start to whirl and

Soon this old machine will be taken

Off the desk and words will be

Written.  After one or two attempts

At some new poems I’ll rest, listen

To the god-damn patronizing radio

Talking down to me telling me always

The same propaganda, lies & threats.

 

‘Stay Home - Save Lives - Protect The NHS’

They will drone quoting the

Government’s official policy during

This strange odd time of so-called

Lock-down. I’ll contemplate some

Lunch but by-pass that in favour of

More smoke, more tea and soon, when

The world is eating their lunch, I'll

Return to my bed and sleep glorious

Sleep.  Soon after I'll wake again

And start back in; more tea, more

Green and soon I'll be back.

 

Today it’ll be chapter seven of the

Blessed second draft and from there

Well who knows except my grumbling

Stomach, finally hunger having set

In I'll call the one person I talk with

Everyday and everyday it’s the same

Old conversation. We’ll talk about

Our days and what we’ve done and

Finally I’ll decide what to do for

Dinner.  After that is eaten I'll sit

Back down and work on the writing

Some more all in a bid to get me out of here.

 

And only once that is all done I’ll

Roll another and smoke it on down

Before hitting the streets to clear

My mind, hit the reset button and

Finally I'll come on home and watch

Some brain-dead movie just so, at

Last, my mind can switch off. I’ll

Smoke some more and hopefully

Laugh a little before i switch on my

Radio and return to bed knowing

Tomorrow I'll wake and start in

All over again except this time it’ll

Be Chapter eight.

 

 

CONTEMPLATING ESCAPE AS THE DAYS OF OLD RETURN TO HAUNT

 

Tonight

Today

Hell the whole last

Couple of weeks

Have been hard,

Hard as the lock-down

Closes first my door

And then my mind to

Life outside my door.

 

The horror that

Comes every time i

Leave this house

To go

Out,

Out there where

The dead now rule

As the nights

Close in early.

 

Me, I remain here

When I ain’t getting

Disturbed at my

Work where shop-lifters

Come, say hey to me,

Before fleeing the

Scene and me stuck

Frustrated and bored

On those god-damn check-outs.

 

 

SATURDAY AFTERNOON HOME ALONE

 

With the radio on and the football about to kick-off

At last a Saturday comes into view not wrecked by

Insanity and mass alcoholic consumption.  This

Morning I woke, nicely rested, and went about my

Business. 

 

Breakfast followed a smoke and a cuppa and then it

Was out to get some food from a local supermarket

Soaking in the madness of the street down which I

Walked.  Then finally back at home I sat and got

Back to this.

 

This working on the word that comes when I need

It to, especially on days like these, days when time

Has passed, three weeks now nearly since I last

Attempted anything successfully but now I’m

Back and the feeling is good.

 

 

 

Bradford Middleton lives in Brighton on the UK’s south coast.  Recent poems have or are forthcoming in Dreich, Back Room Poetry ‘Rebel Anthology’, River Dog Zine, Beatnik Cowboy and Stink Eye Magazine.  His most recent chapbook was published in early 2023 by those mighty fine souls at the Alien Buddha Press.  He tweets occasionally @BradfordMiddle5.