Subversive Activity

for Gilbert Adair

One has in that virtuality called mind

an overlay of medium and organisation

a sense of how things should work.

It is false, an oversimplification,

a sighting on the map and not the sun.

Thus starts every act

including war and other failure.

To last reliant on bitty mental-mapped data

in an environment of unplanned order

which we do not comprehend, except partially,

lacking referents to supposed reality,

and do the same thing for a dozen years

and keep it energetic and keep your spirit

is almost magical

one suspects the use of gadgets

Some on death row survive as long

but they have lawyers and a clumsy system.

Few want to gas or burn us;

no one wants to film it.

This is our cruel and unusual punishment.

Gilbert, I wonder!

Where do you come from?

Some time in a reign of frogs

and other species supplementation

perhaps you were dropped

and started running on your inside motor

where most would lie dribbling

like things birds drop

It's hard. I've just passed a sign saying

Where does a poet's strength get waxed?

It always was this difficult I'm sure of that.

This poem was written for Gilbert Adair in 1992 to mark his departure from UK and read to him at the all day reading held in his honour. Gilbert Adair founded, and ran for 12 years (1980-1992), Sub Voicive Poetry, almost regardless of the size of audience and often at his own expense; and one of his books is Frog Boks (Writers Forum).