{"id":11981,"date":"2021-09-13T11:52:07","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T10:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11981"},"modified":"2021-11-02T21:20:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T20:20:50","slug":"2-poems-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11981","title":{"rendered":"2 Poems<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

MOSS<\/h3>\n

Scraping into the silence of another empty afternoon,
\nthe dogwalker, who never stops, hovers, explores,
\nruns through power-washes. That unknown neighbour
\nleans on the fence, weighs up, once overs the maze
\nof Accrington brick, confirms \u2013 it\u2019s nothing but residue
\nafter this dry spell and reckons on the amount
\nof silver sand needed. Together we lose ourselves
\naround possibilities \u2013 thin chisel? thick nail? Brush through
\npound shops that might or might not be gone
\nnow the pole\u2019s skin has loosened in the grip of seasons
\nunused beneath patio rain. Still, I carry on. Even you
\nadmit this could be therapeutic \u2013 all this tapping, a bit
\nhypnotic and linger for more of the action with tea
\nby the door. I explain, perhaps it\u2019s my previous
\nin data-entry? Or the years lost to Tetris? Both now
\nenough of a distance to gaze into. Maybe though
\nsometimes, occasionally, you just need something,
\nlike Everest because it\u2019s there, so I hear. Whatever
\nthe build-up shifts, lifts \u2013 effortlessly if you listen, slowly
\nout from the edges, somewhere along those lines.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SNAPSHOT<\/h3>\n

The youngest points at \u2018The Essential Neruda\u2019
\nleant against a one Euro bottle of Holy Water
\nand some other more essential essentials. She thinks it\u2019s your cousin
\nwith his forearm across the top of his head, and<\/p>\n

is that a magpie?<\/em> I\u2019ve never looked that close
\nbut it\u2019s true there\u2019s a resemblance.
\nI explain. All she asks is \u2013 what country? is he dead?
\nWith her it\u2019s always nothing but death.<\/p>\n

The upshot is we\u2019re going to Chile.
\nIt\u2019s been decided \u2013 so I can visit his grave
\nand she can stay in a hotel. She\u2019s always wanted to.
\nThey have swimming pools and water slides.<\/p>\n

Later, you remember Kefalonia. That night
\nwe took a picture of the taxi-driver.
\nA perfect double for your cousin you thought.
\nIt might still be loose in the back of an album.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSS Scraping into the silence of another empty afternoon, the dogwalker, who never stops, hovers, explores, runs through power-washes. That unknown neighbour leans on the fence, weighs up, once overs the maze of Accrington brick, confirms \u2013 it\u2019s nothing but residue after this dry spell and reckons on the amount of silver sand needed. Together […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":12079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[401,405],"tags":[404],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n2 Poems - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11981\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11981&page=2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2 Poems - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MOSS Scraping into the silence of another empty afternoon, the dogwalker, who never stops, hovers, explores, runs through power-washes. 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His work has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, The Poets' Republic, The Cormorant, The Blue Nib, The Interpreters House and others and has been featured on RTE's Poem of the Day.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?author=232\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2 Poems - The Manchester Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11981","next":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11981&page=2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2 Poems - The Manchester Review","og_description":"MOSS Scraping into the silence of another empty afternoon, the dogwalker, who never stops, hovers, explores, runs through power-washes. 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