{"id":11985,"date":"2021-09-13T12:53:51","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T11:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985"},"modified":"2021-11-02T21:20:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T20:20:28","slug":"3-poems-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985","title":{"rendered":"3 Poems<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h3>\n

Gucci Mane<\/h3>\n

I keep
\ndiazepam
\nin my car<\/p>\n

the way
\nan ocean
\nkeeps a<\/p>\n

blue whale
\nasleep
\nlike an iceberg<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From Ryan Gosling<\/em><\/h3>\n

But Ryan Gosling will die one day and the trees are more than certain
\nhe will die driving covered in tattoos
\nand his body and the corrugated wind<\/p>\n

last summer Ryan and I played a game with the trees
\nwe decided they were well aware of our bullshit
\nthe fact we shouldn\u2019t have been driving<\/p>\n

Ryan changing gear
\nand the click click grrrrr as the engine held its breath
\nwhich Ryan would come to tell me<\/p>\n

was merely the sound of matter changing place
\nlike when a blue whale yawns
\nand the lights go out in a school hall<\/p>\n

or like the time I got a salary job and my father (my real one)
\ncalled me middle class and I was sure
\nnothing would change<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From the Perspective of Coral<\/h3>\n

An exhibition in seven rooms<\/em><\/p>\n

There are a large number of particulates suspended
\nin the ocean, and while suicide does not
\nhave eyelashes to keep particulates out of its eyes
\nas humans do, it emits a certain frequency
\n(some call it a hum, a toothache,
\nthe background wind of a 4am voicemail)
\nwhich continuously bathes the eye
\nwith an oily protein mucous.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Considered one of the least-known
\nand rarest living things, suicide
\nis hardly ever seen with the naked eye<\/p>\n

except last week in Morrisons when
\nreaching for a mango, opening
\na box of eggs
\nto check for cracks.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Suicide needs to see
\nin a wide range of light levels.
\nAnyone who has gone scuba diving knows
\nthe difficulties of underwater vision.
\nVisibility can be affected by the turbidity of water
\nand the deeper you get
\nthe less light penetrates and you slowly
\nlose colours.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to draw your attention to slide 7
\n\u2018Suicide Suspended\u2019, as seen from the ocean floor
\n(from the perspective of coral).<\/p>\n

It is unclear as to whether suicide is ascending
\nor descending. It is unclear as to whether
\nsuicide is alone or calling to a mate.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like you to imagine the deepest,
\nwidest body of water you can.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like you to hold this water in your mind
\nthe way you might an auntie or pet.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like you to call this water your water.<\/p>\n

Now, please fill out this short questionnaire:<\/p>\n

Is it night or day in your water?
\nWould you call your water a friend or an enemy?
\nHas your water ever been taught how to float?
\nDoes your water remember a particular holiday in Tenerife?
\nDoes the sight of your water make your nose itch?
\nDo hospitals sleep in your water?
\nIf your water could talk, would it be kind?
\nWould its voice be deep or high-pitched?
\nDoes your water have its own mythology?
\nWhat is your water\u2019s favourite season?
\nWhat was your water\u2019s first thought this morning?
\nWhat was the last thing it drowned?<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Suicide vocalizations are the sounds made by suicide
\nto communicate. The word \u2018song\u2019
\nis used in particular to describe the pattern
\nof regular and predictable sounds
\nmade by suicide in a way that is reminiscent
\nof a human singing.<\/p>\n

See, for instance, this pizza-eating example
\n(resident of England some 26 years).<\/p>\n

See how it wears shorts in the park in summer?<\/p>\n

See how it makes plans to visit Japan with a friend?<\/p>\n

See how it chews sugar free gum? Pays rent?<\/p>\n

Here it comes\u2026<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t breathe too hard!<\/p>\n

Would you look at that\u2026 making small talk with the bus driver!<\/p>\n

Remarkable\u2026 simply remarkable.<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Suicide plays hide and seek with a human diver<\/p>\n

suicide disappears behind the hull of a sunk ship<\/p>\n

suicide [blushing] is a terrible flirt<\/p>\n

stop it! For crying out loud stop it!<\/p>\n

(canned laughter, spatters of booing)<\/p>\n

suicide slinks off stage left<\/p>\n

crouches at the other end of the ocean<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

Gucci Mane I keep diazepam in my car the way an ocean keeps a blue whale asleep like an iceberg  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":296,"featured_media":12083,"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":"\n3 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=11985\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985&page=2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Poems - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gucci Mane I keep diazepam in my car the way an ocean keeps a blue whale asleep like an iceberg  \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-13T11:53:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-02T20:20:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/09.Across-and-ISMALLn-Between_2.7MB.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"626\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"418\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Carrick-Varty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Carrick-Varty\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985\",\"name\":\"3 Poems - The Manchester Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-13T11:53:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-02T20:20:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/87671cfdc05e9684488876a4d59aa71b\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=11985\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"description\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/87671cfdc05e9684488876a4d59aa71b\",\"name\":\"Joe Carrick-Varty\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"caption\":\"Joe Carrick-Varty\"},\"description\":\"Joe Carrick-Varty is a British-Irish writer and co-founder of bath magg. 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