Introduction to poem
The idea for this poem arose when I was thinking about what would happen if one day scientists invented a 'pill' that; if you took it, instantly transformed how you saw the world. Poets are people who see the world a little differently to ordinary folk. Or perhaps, poets do actually see the world, whereas for ordinary folk the world just goes by in a blur? Anyway, so the poem below is about a guy from Hackney who loves a girl but unfortunately his skills at poetic seduction and expression are somewhat lacking (see opening lines of his poem below!) - So he takes a special pill...with a glass of water....and then 'wriggles his stomach' to let the pill 'swill inside' and dissolve....And then voila!! - gradually as the pill dissolves, his poetry reaches a truly stratospheric crescendo and climax of dizzying sensual heights! He starts seeing everything. Things he never saw or smelt before are suddenly made clear. It's as if someone has turned up the dial on his sensory settings.
(I've included a glossary of terms at the bottom of the poem to aid understanding!)
(I've included a glossary of terms at the bottom of the poem to aid understanding!)
Poetry Pill
I bring tidings, from London Town
From Hackney Borough, near Hackney Downs
Born and bred, in the streets of Stokey
Articulate and well versed
In the art of poetry
So here’s a sample, of some mouth watering oratory
From the depths of a master, of delicious poetry:
(In a London accent)
Ur my pimp-cess cos ur buff
Wanna twiddle ye knobs, poke ye muff
That goofy smile, I jus’ can’t resist
Come ere’ u tart and gis a kiss
Let’s go out for an all night bender
Squeeze those nipples till their all tender
We can go McD’s and av a laff
Get rat arsed in da local gaff
There is a storm waging in my ed’
Its called love – u hear wot I said?
Without u there is nuffink in the world
Except’ Tommy Hilfiger and Burberry twirl
Dump u wiv gifts and spoil u rotten
Love ya 4 ever, kiss ya smelly bottom
There is nuffink more in the world I want
Then 2 shag ya 'ard ya lovely c**t!
I tink I need a poetry pill
Cos my poetry is making people ill
So I’ll take dis pill and see wot ‘appens
Maybe suffink good and my poetry will blossom
1…2…3 poetry pill in
1…2…3 let the water swill
Wriggle my stomach
Wriggle my legs
I wanna see this poetry pill
Take deadly affect
Wriggle my head
Wriggle my bottom
I wanna see this poetry pill
Fry my brain rotten
Ahh! - I can feel suffink gushing inside
Spewing henceforth
A remorseless diatribe:
Oh! I can see colours I have never ever seen
I can see ultraviolet in every thing!
I can see all shades of our beloved Maker
Eyeballs soak it in like blotting paper
Oh! I can hear sounds I have never ever heard
Ultrasonic squeaks and singing birds
I can hear the boom of the mighty Big Bang
Distant galaxies and Radio Koh-Nang!
Oh! I can smell things I have never ever smelt
Coffee beans and rotting squelch
I can smell the pores of the Hippopotamus
Ancient fossils and babies bottomus!
Here's a stanza to you my love
I bare all;
I take-off my gloves:
Do you see the old lady spew you a smile?
Toothless and scrawny, tongue like bile
Do you see the rickshaw-wallah, with ebony hands?
Advertising Gillette to "make you a man!"
Do you see the bewitchment of Aurora Borealis?
Shimmering lights, celestial Tigris
Do you hear the cacophony of burning Banzai?
Drunken like moths and spectral fireflies
Do you see the urchins pesky for baksheesh?
Amongst the Souks and the tourist kitsch
Do you hear the din of the humming droves?
Redemption! They seek. In this infernal abode
Do you see the beggar with stumps for legs?
Trousers held up with plasticky pegs
Do you see the monk on a devotional crawl?
Sipping Coca-Cola in a roadside stall
Do you see the child defecating in a shack?
Its school bag still attached to its back
Do you see the alleyway where prostitutes sit?
Strewn with condoms and pregnancy kits
Do you see the desert scorched with dust?
Wafting fragrances, inciting wanderlust
Do you see the camels marching in key?
Like little corkscrews bobbing in the sea
There is poetry everywhere you turn
Embers of life may whither away and burn
But the poetry of life will always remain
Stoking forever this beautiful refrain
But the poetry of my life will always be
You floatin' about, in memories
Bovverin' me forever,
like bumble beez
Innit.
-THE END-
Glossary
Tidings = news
Bred = brought up
Stokey = Stoke Newington
Articulate = well spoken. Able to use words to explain how you feel or what you are thinking
Well versed = familiar with the classics of world literature
Mouth-watering = anything that makes the saliva in your mouth flow
Oratory = the art of speaking
Buff = pretty/good looking
Twiddle = play with
Knobs = parts of your body
Muff = vagina
Goofy = sweet
Tart = prostitute
Bender = all night drinking session
Tender = soft
McD's = McDonalds
Laff = laugh
Rat arsed = drunk
Gaff = pub
Ed = head
Spoil u rotten = buy you lots of gifts
Shag = fuck
C**t = vagina
Blossom = open up like a flower
Nuffink = nothing
Suffink = something
Gushing = flowing
Spewing = about to come out
Remorseless = never ending.
Diatribe = a long speech/poem/piece of writing that never stops!
Maker = God
Blotting paper = filter paper that soaks up everything
Ultrasonic = sounds the human ear cannot hear due to their high frequency
Stanza = the separate paragraphs of a poem
Bare all = go naked
Scrawny = old and skinny
Bile = green stuff in your stomach
Rickshaw-wallah = peddle bike driver in South East Asia
Ebony = black dark wood
Aurora Borealis = the Northern Lights. Green curtains of lights effect seen in the Northern Hemisphere
Shimmering = when lights blink on and off very fast
Celestial = heavenly. In the night sky
Tigris = river in ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Cacophony = an orchestra of many sounds all at once
Banzai = small Japanese trees
Spectral = ghostly
Urchins = beggars
Pesky = annoying you
Baksheesh = money/bribe
Souks = old markets in Middle Eastern countries
Kitsch = shitty tourist souvenirs!
Din = loud annoying sound
Redemption = forgiveness
Abode = place of living
Defecating = shitting
Scorched = burnt
Wafting = floating in the breeze
Inciting wanderlust = making you want to travel
Bobbing = moving up and down
Embers = what's left over after a fire
Stoking = stoking a fire. Keeping the fire going by blowing into it and giving it oxygen or fresh wood
Whither = to go skinny and thin
Refrain = these words / this poem
Bovverin' = bothering me / annoying me!
Bumble Beez = bumble bees
Innit = isn't it?
