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Undersized Expectations

by


Rusty Broadspear

 Insignificant expectations.

Materialisation is elusive.

Owing to miscalculations

Offensive and abusive.



Her ancient leathery hand

Unfurled long yellow, bony fingers

Tipped with malformed, curling nails.

In the grimy hollowed palm

Nestled three polished stones.

Solid, stone wall cataracts

Speared my soul,

Lips parted like crematorium curtains

Revealing strips of dead grey gums.



Sweating apprehension,

I leaned closer,

Her foul breath played whistling lung tunes.

Momentarily I loved this hag,

Her boldness and wiseness

In spite of neglect and illness.

As she threw the stones before me,

She rasped, coughed or laughed

And whispered, ‘You are…………..

Too sexy for my shawl, hee, hee, hee.’



‘Pardon me?’ I choked………

‘You will get the woman,

as you fly together on the wings of fate,

in the mean time love the powers that be,

ignore the powers of hate.’

She might have been right,

In light of misplaced expectations,

In spite of grey invading black and white,

And uncultivated imaginations.



I fold my life over,

Impeccably, neat and crisp.

Forever, never disillusioned,

Knowing that folds come undone.

The power of the hag hangs over,

She wasn’t evil, she wasn’t good,

But I loved her and she knew it,

In fact I think we both understood.



An exception, she’d diverted fate,

A good’un, she died.

And life’s carousel turns’n’spins

And she bequeathed hope

A turnaround, a spinaround.

My mate sez oo iz ugli me?

OO should be so delighted, excited,

At 24 you iz ded

Wiv wrinkled brow, the time is now.



Woman?

You want woman?

You know keep fit? And all that stuff?

You forgot mate, you dyin’ my fren.

You don wan no woman.

Aint nuffin you got wot woman want,

You in death throws ol’ maaaan,

‘no whameeeeen!’



OK, 24…. old if you’re fifteen,

I’m sure you know what I mean.

But the hag and her news had me slightly confused

Whilst my mind was held tightly

Under her ghastly guillotine.

Not wrinkles but lifelines

And you know life has rotated,

My mate has caught a bus, gone elsewhere.

His remarks were overstated.



Insignificant expectations.

Materialisation is elusive.

Owing to miscalculations

Offensive and abusive

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