J Archer Avary

OBJECTS IN MOTION SHOULD REALLY GET SOME REST

uninspired graffiti springs up overnight
industrial eunuchs hijack airplanes of emotions
perpetrating teenage 911s
crashing into innocent everythings

look around you
everyone’s phoning it in
thoughts and prayers for the unawares
hard to feel when you don’t care
hard to care when you don’t feel

i want to kiss you    on the eyes
because they look like mouths puckered-up
buttercups enveloping bumblebees
altitude    orchids    cannonball corpses

we bring positive mental energy to these pageants of grief
transcending time and tastefulness
we see horses in a field and root for them to fuck

SPRING IS HAPPENING IN THE BEER GARDEN

water drips from planter boxes
       welded to cold steel    of anti-burglary fencing
the mind hazy like a grapefruit IPA
       steam on sunglasses interiors
sunshine gleaming in the blue midday
                 up to my dry-skin elbows
wise bumblebees know this place
       the flies won’t get here until dinner is served
photogenic cheeseburgers served with non-traditional condiments
                                                kimchee & bacon remoulade
you tune into the pink noise of idling engines, the din of industry
       machinery grinding its gears, deep in the footprint
of the latest & greatest hi-rise condo project
exposed beams staking territorial claim to its future place in the city skyline
and if it feels like you’re finally getting somewhere
                        well, maybe you are

HEWORTH STATION IS NO PLACE FOR PIGEONS

I like being in a train station
standing on the platform
and waiting
for something to happen
but nothing happens
so I ponder my surroundings
the bricks and textures
so much wire
all the work they do
to deny pigeons a place to sit
and defecate

THE DREGS OF MILK

drakkar noir superstar
a tourtured genius in retrograde
tartan suits in textured textiles
polished leather boots
w/ attitude

adjustments
are for yr chiropractor
imagine our world
as a rage room
high capacity magazines
more centrefolds for yr money
in the honey-dipped twilight

no more kindling
a night without fire
time to run diagnostics on ourselves
time to ponder
the bits of blood and colostrum
that settle to the bottom

THIS HOT TUB IS A BOMB SHELTER

donetsk
is half
a world away
from kiln pit hill
where i am
making a cheese plate
adding another log to the fire
the hot tub is almost ready
the walls
are three feet thick
this hot tub is a bomb shelter
and i am submerged
breathing steam, naked
for jealous horses
staring, knee deep
in icy mud
i am present, i
absorb the atmosphere
venus is the brightest object
in the night sky, i am
under
the influence
adding another log to the fire
another pimm’s lemonade
sleet comes down
bombs explode in ukraine
and i am safe here
as windmills spin
at kiln pit hill
i drink kylie minogue
sparkling wine
and the water is perfect
in this hot tub
where i am missing
the start of
world
war
three

J. Archer Avary (he/him) is a former TV weatherman and champion lionfish hunter. He was born in the USA, discovered his true self in the Caribbean, and now lives in the UK with his wife & stepdaughter. He’s the author of the novella THE DOG SITTER (2021, Daily Drunk Press) and the forthcoming poetry chapbook TOTAL RHUBARB (2023, Back Room Poetry). He tweets @j_archer_avary