Anthony Mellors

RED SLIP
 

Sometimes a red slip occurs
white with bird-lime in the cities
where the odor eaters the black rain
fall in a triumph of reverse
ethnography purple blossoms
and falling wooded slopes and
nothing to do, nothing to hold:
le mystere, le regret, fatigue,
night, repose, silence.
 



RETORT


Virtually a retort needing
no glands but

mushroom-headed types
with hard rubber faces

full flowing syphons
the apex of each

cock on the 2-inch
bypass

sumps suction through
leaky flap valves

forced to burning jets
and burnt products

if a catch should foul
the locking collar

a faint rushing noise
heard by listening

intently on a still
day will scavenge air

not unlike finely
crushed charcoal


 

FOR JEFF HILSON

 
What were these you have loved, jeff?
These you do love these you will have
loved these you would have loved had
you known about them these that might
have been loved had they but love to give
and had you been in the right place at the
right time the future past the anterior
interior the pre-amp phase 4 funkatronic
ultra fidelity lautsprecher mordaunt
short beovox disco galactic realistic
teak adoration in the right time right
last the whole night long kind of place
latin world kind of place solid gold
hammond moog party time y los trios strip
tease 101 strings play songs of old england
with that latin feel kind of place immortal
serenades wunderlich pops mexican
tijuana shane rimmer goes bossa quim
barreiros cracklin’ rosie dream liebestraum
pop orgel hitparty sing and dance with caterina
valente memories are made of this tico
tico el bimbo kind of place time a
time and a place always on my mind
whistling in the wires take this job
and shove it little children everywhere
time esta muchacho various artists manuel
ecstasy time frank chacksfield
easy marimba party time call me
irresponsible as time goes by time where
do I begin nonstop double hammond there’s
a kind of hush tweedle dee spanish eyes
trumpet a gogo happy lehar bittet zum
tanz folge time violins in love beachparty
excess of seventy million albums
rock-a-doodle I knew jesus all my friends
are dead time liberace plays dancing
skeletons by candlelight impossible
dreamtime without a worry in the world alone
after dark have a nice day with lena martell
hasta manana the look of love the touch
of your lips the touch of melachrino
in living stereo the touch of andre kostelanetz
the magnificent pianos of ronnie aldrich these
you love have loved will have loved place time

Copyright © Anthony Mellors 2015

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Recent work by Anthony Mellors includes The Lewknor Turn (Shearsman, 2013), and The Christmas Album (Verisimilitude, 2015). Soon there will be poems in the final issue of Vlak, and Sylphs (with Penny Hallas) will be a Five Seasons Press Broadside. The essay ‘Modernism after Modernism’ forms the final chapter of the forthcoming Cambridge History of Modernist Poetry.