At The End of the Universe
It was a splendid coffee shop,
cakes made with flair and imagination
a perfect cup of coffee
and an even more outstanding
pan galactic gargle buster cocktail,
easily the best drink in the universe.
I discovered it when I was hitchhiking,
travelling through the galaxy with Arthur.
He was similarly impressed,
so much so that he asked for the name
of their suppliers
so that we could fill our backpacks
for the next stage of our journey
They told us that everything came from
the Heaven And Earth Grocery Store
and gave us precise directions of how to find it.
But as usual, our sense of direction failed us
and we lingered
for some time
before the next ship stopped for us.
And it was no help,
it was as lost as we were.
And that’s how we realised a Guide was needed,
a specialist hitchhiker’s Guide
to the galaxy.
Infinite Improbability
It was the Infinite Probability Drive
that enabled the discovery.
And once discovered
it could not be
undiscovered.
Nothing can be.
Now,
in the future,
another lucky accident
is enabling another discovery,
a means of calculating the probability
of everything.
It is something,
if not everything,
that we need to know.
Soon we shall probably,
or improbably,
know why.
First published in Brave and Reckless Feb 8 2024
The Haunted Saucepan
“You’ll be in the soup
if you go out in this”
she said,
“it’s a real pea-souper.”
I carried on stirring,
I wasn’t thinking of going out anyway.
I have to keep stirring
or I’ll be in the soup,
that’s what my saucepan says.
And I listen to her
as I peer through the fog
inside.
I know
what a sticky mess she can make
if I don’t obey her.
So I keep on stirring,
hoping that soon
she’ll let me eat.
I keep on stirring,
hoping that sometime
she’ll let me eat.
First published in Brave and Reckless, Monster She Wrote, October 2021
The Circle Game
I was running round in circles,
or that’s how it felt,
going nowhere
from no beginning
to no end
just round and round
in colour splattered circles
a palette I picked up from living
on the edge of this mad, mad world.
And I have to live on the edge.
In the middle there are huge holes
hovering, waiting, ready to suck me in.
I must take care not to deviate,
not to fall through the circle
into the great white hole
where the running will stop
and everything will end in madness.
First published in Brave and Reckless, Mad World, October 2020
Sleep
I’m hoping for the sweet dreams tonight,
ready to welcome them to my bed
like the tree welcomes its leaves.
But I cannot choose them,
cannot control them,
cannot prevent them
turning to nightmares
that wake me
screaming and sweating
night after night.
And I cannot choose
the time when the long sleep
takes me to my final bed
holding the flowers tight
in my boney hand.
First published in Alien Buddha Zine, December 2023
Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for Pushcarts, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award. Her poetry has appeared in many publications including: Consequence Journal, Firewords, Capsule Stories, Gyroscope Review, Blue Pepper, Arachne Press and So It Goes.
https://lynnwhitepoetry.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/Lynn-White-Poetry-1603675983213077/
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