Simon Kirwin
FIVE CEMETERIES GUIDE
The Jewish cemetery in Suwałki, Poland has a faded swastika
on a wall with tombstone fragments and a central plaque translated
by iPhone, ‘This is a memorial to those killed, thrown into God
by the strangers’
By an uncovered well on the edge of Orthodox in Suwałki, Poland
where it borders Old Believers in Suwałki, Poland
a path leads to Catholics in Suwałki, Poland
blocked by a chapel
where three and two
and four fingers make a cross sign
and clockwise, counter- and anti-processions
process
One can’t get over the wall to the Muslims in Suwałki, Poland but
the guidebook shows a way by the grille-seat opposite
a gravestone with plastic flowers beyond
the beer can and bleach spoil heap
Young from Suwałki, Poland are jumping in a floodlit field
ORCHESTRA ENTROPY AT IKLECTIK
read faster, faster
play
knock nock noc
what?
where’s the syrupy wall-sound?
prinking planging bone bassoon
trombone humpfing clumpfing
splits it down a saxophone
violinista, er… i demand you less clever!
blast
now the colour’s… perse
stop sniff
when you say you’ll kill yourself strike me off could not give a
go go for christ’s sake go write your threats to
bang
a blask of sax
sudden trumpet startley ish
colouroni now, er… fulvid now, ah
… aurulent!
shush
sometimes all i do is walk walk shout at lamps shout at kerbs
kids in parks watch it! watch watch the bus wing swoop it missed you by
a flute a flute
it melts
melts
her music stand an angel’s wing
her alabaster neck those legs
below below below
she moves she jerks
a wooden hinge her
bangle bangs it shoots her arm
and this and this is film it’s film!
it’s whatshisname it’s manray yes
it’s air it’s stringed
it’s air it’s
stop
a thing drops
all still
none of this means none is new a dart hits stab it stabs an eye it cracks a glass
there’s word all o all over shop it’s salad o o don’t look up
it’s only stuff it’s only stuff o
i’m all done i’m all done in i’m done i’m done the listening’s done
The Jewish cemetery in Suwałki, Poland has a faded swastika
on a wall with tombstone fragments and a central plaque translated
by iPhone, ‘This is a memorial to those killed, thrown into God
by the strangers’
By an uncovered well on the edge of Orthodox in Suwałki, Poland
where it borders Old Believers in Suwałki, Poland
a path leads to Catholics in Suwałki, Poland
blocked by a chapel
where three and two
and four fingers make a cross sign
and clockwise, counter- and anti-processions
process
One can’t get over the wall to the Muslims in Suwałki, Poland but
the guidebook shows a way by the grille-seat opposite
a gravestone with plastic flowers beyond
the beer can and bleach spoil heap
Young from Suwałki, Poland are jumping in a floodlit field
ORCHESTRA ENTROPY AT IKLECTIK
read faster, faster
play
knock nock noc
what?
where’s the syrupy wall-sound?
prinking planging bone bassoon
trombone humpfing clumpfing
splits it down a saxophone
violinista, er… i demand you less clever!
blast
now the colour’s… perse
stop sniff
when you say you’ll kill yourself strike me off could not give a
go go for christ’s sake go write your threats to
bang
a blask of sax
sudden trumpet startley ish
colouroni now, er… fulvid now, ah
… aurulent!
shush
sometimes all i do is walk walk shout at lamps shout at kerbs
kids in parks watch it! watch watch the bus wing swoop it missed you by
a flute a flute
it melts
melts
her music stand an angel’s wing
her alabaster neck those legs
below below below
she moves she jerks
a wooden hinge her
bangle bangs it shoots her arm
and this and this is film it’s film!
it’s whatshisname it’s manray yes
it’s air it’s stringed
it’s air it’s
stop
a thing drops
all still
none of this means none is new a dart hits stab it stabs an eye it cracks a glass
there’s word all o all over shop it’s salad o o don’t look up
it’s only stuff it’s only stuff o
i’m all done i’m all done in i’m done i’m done the listening’s done
© Copyright Simon Kirwin 2020
Simon Kirwin grew up in Manchester and lives in London. His poetry has appeared in limited-edition pamphlets and some journals, both online and in print, including Poetry Salzburg Review, South, PEN International, Domestic Cherry, and Amaryllis. He is studying for an MA in Creative Writing (Poetry) at Royal Holloway, University of London.