In the bed
of a bloke
then ipso facto
you’re in love.
No joke.
No matter how
you muscle-train
your cells are jelly
and recall
ding dong ding dong belly.
*
Rachel McAlpine
Poems
In the olden days
Sue is not a burglar girl
(says Ruby).
Her father was born
in the olden days.
Probably they didn’t have
burglars then
but something worse
like pirates
or deadly weapons aliens.
Deadly means
really good
and not useless.
*
Rachel McAlpine
From a story told by Ruby, aged 4 or 5 or 6
In khaki
Your eyes are in khaki.
Are you at war
or on safari?
I would hate to be a pet
but I am scared
of dying.
*
Rachel McAlpine
The harbour darkens
The way the grey-green water
settles into the hollow and
swivels in the socket.
The way the green diminishes
and grey thickens and winces
as the wind crams the clouds across the bay.
And how your eyes flick and
heal so quickly after
the harbour darkens above me.
*
Rachel McAlpine
Facts about zombies
Goblins knock on the door
in disguise (says Ruby). Get them
to take off their clothes.
If they say no,
they’re baddies.
To get them destructed,
take off their clothes.
Then call the police.
Then fight them.
(You know this isn’t real.
It’s just in case,
to save the day.)
If a zombie comes up the toilet
you can whisk off and fight it,
because you know the steps.
Put some Barbie dolls in a row
because zombies hate Barbie dolls.
They’re afraid they’ll chomp them.
You can also shine a light at zombies.
It injects them
and they die.
*
Rachel McAlpine
From a story told by Ruby, aged 4 or 5 or 6
His and hers
Her life
is a mixed farm.
His life
is an antique vase.
Does one need the other?
Does the other need one?
*
Rachel McAlpine
Passports
I love you nervously.
The neighbours know.
Are we manageable?
Can you say that word?
Are we even valid?
I love you mostly with
a careful paranoia and
at times a kind of folly.
There are laws, you know.
I think we ought to whisper.
You have overstayed.
You are one too many.
*
Rachel McAlpine
A sandwich by moonlight
A sandwich by moonlight
is not enough.
You need speckled linen shirts.
You need a bolt of lightning.
You need to jump on a fault line
very soon.
*
Rachel McAlpine
Now’s your once
Now’s your once
in a lifetime chance.
Take a stroll
around my soul.
Hands off the software,
please.
*
Rachel McAlpine
I’m trying to forget
I’m trying to forget
my cell phone got wet.
It’s a goner, I bet
but I won’t think about that
yet.
*
Rachel McAlpine
Poems in the wild—Rachel McAlpine 