Saturday, 11 July 2026

Oily, cheesy

I got a sebaceous cyst
a lump as big as your fist
got so much sebum it makes me sick
dome-shaped bump, and really thick

I require medical attention
cause my life's in suspension
my oil-producing gland
is really getting out of hand

Sebaceous
it stops me being flirtatious
sebaceous
full of pus and capacious

Sebaceous cyst
I've never been kissed
sebaceous cyst
do you get the gist
sebaceous cyst
you won't be missed
sebaceous cyst
you're not on my shopping list

It's a source of distress
a cause of some tenderness
it's an epidermoid issue
and I really won't miss you
when you're surgically excised
I'll feel more civilized
farewell keratin protein
no more skin like a baked bean

Sebaceous
oh how to stop it
sebaceous
you better not pop it


Ximhart xo Xantaven (1980)

 Xor xi xyor xansar

      xedoprah xingtab xolokning

xrak xoffe xincea xargo

xuvvakra xeelgo xaarpo xybe xefels

      xissnaa xibbotah


xyo xanna xamak - xingbat -

xaam xoonor xohxex xorgle

      xexi xubble xatt xraxak

            - xubxab -


xohxex xararu xublut

      (xurla xorkral)

xwepgo xax xijnab

      (xiffer xoober)

xanderxoon xin xassfapooha


xamuro xip xuplugg

      xodro xratbee

xohxex xiste xantena xaura

      xok xakamara

xak xes xing xyo


xorfa xo xamo xaxilling

      xrof xelango xo xymo

      xraxax xak xodron

xarxa ximhart xo xantaven


All the Trimmings

Joe hadn't spoken to anyone in three months
weekends shut in, and now the festive period
was crawling into view
with dread in its locks and bleakness in his house

Joe forced himself to go for a walk,
on such a cold and winter's day,
down to St Luke's
he would never venture inside,
he wasn't that desperate
but there was a glowing structure in the grounds
strangely alluring in the afternoon gloom
maybe a nativity scene
it couldn't hurt to take a closer look
find some minor amusement at the tableau
of angels and farmyard animals

Joe was too close to turn back when he realised
it was just a hut selling Christmas trees
'Can I help you mate?'
for Christ's sake he couldn't just leave
and he wasn't in the market for a
mansized fir companion
'Last few remaining mate, I can do you
a very reasonable deal'

Joe opened his voice and tried to explain
his vision of the nativity and
how he didn't really celebrate Christmas
'I get it mate, I really do. We should
focus on the core message and ignore all
the modern sideshow. Even I can see that.
Tenner each though. All gotta go.'

Joe lugs his mansized fir companion
back up the road. Might as well
buy a turkey now


Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Cute Paper Hedgehogs

on closer inspection
parents were horrified
seemed like a kind gesture
no malice involved
a man approached
an older man
just a mistake
unsettling encounter
Merseyside police
normally checked the pages
crafted the little creations
pure sexual stuff
Nicholson Baker

       𝄐

grabbed a middle page
absolutely obsessed
received a hedgehog
and a furry nose
came across a Facebook post
no offences have been committed
seven other families
it was adult content
eager to get their hands
parents were so concerned
taken home a hedgehog
a carrier bag full of them
mortified by the mistake
handing them to children
made them at home as a hobby
made from explicit pages
ran upstairs and grabbed
for a local charity
pure sexual stuff
Nicholson Baker

       𝄐

complete with googly eyes
created in good faith
only some contained
sister being murdered
handmade creations distributed
explicit content
their hands on a hedgehog




Paper hedgehog




Monday, 6 July 2026

I want to reach the final with you

We came through the lengthy qualifying group
playing home and away, at first
some glorious wins followed
by a narrow squeak, a stalemate
and one or two disappointments it has to be said

We weren't the best
but we weren't the worst

Everyone would agree that
improvements had to be made
tactical tweaks, some fresh energy
could help
but let's not panic

We made it through the group stage with ease
solid performances all round
some of it was cagey and
may have lacked for excitement
but we got the job done, you know
at this stage
it's all about
getting the
job done, it's certainly no
time to panic

Some sniped where's the flair, where are
the thrills we were promised
but you know at this level
it's a results business
this isn't a Hollywood movie, it's
real life, you just
keep plugging on

There were some calls for radical change
but we've come this far
with a solid defence, so
we can afford to ignore the small voices

We must stick together -
team spirit, hard work,
trust in the process -
see the job through to the bitter end

Quarter-finals, semi-finals
waiting for the knockout

I'm in it for the duration
I'll cope with red cards
I'll deal with the injuries
I'm ready for penalties

I want to reach the final with you



Brackets


Saturday, 4 July 2026

My latest misadventures

Why always me, I thought as the last-remaining
Alcott barrier on the London network
clamped down on my back, it
was an honest midjudgement on my part
I'm sure they'll - ouch.

Extrication was an impossible task,
there was an ineffectual flailing of limbs
and a plaintive cry 'Excuse me. Can somebody help?'

Boots I saw muddy boots and a sarcastic
ha-ha look at this one
flapping like a crab with its claws taped up
you know the penalty for Fare Evasion son

Sir I am 57 years old.

We all saw you on CCTV trying to
scuttle under the Alcott
she's an unforgiving mistress isn't she?

What the hell. Can you just release -

My partner of course was nowhere to be seen,
and I could hardly blame her. She didn't need
to get mixed up in another one of my escapades
what with her professional standing. We would laugh
about it one day, maybe later this
very day, over a nice casserole and a glass of vino

* * * *

I'd purchased the not
inexpensive can of Qhoopass™ for an occasion such as this
popped the flap to see the liquid iron filings
slurp and assemble rather pleasingly, then ascend
my enemy's leg his chunky faux leather clad
treetrunk leg. Now, I thought, he
will rue the day. Oh he will rue it.
So long as he withheld his disbelief
long enough for the patent Qhoopass™
congealing process to render him paramagnetified 

* * * *

My pride and joy allotment crater
had flooded, so I tried to rescue the
latest cucumber crop. 

First things first I should alert my tidy wife
but the burning sun and the floods, the
exponential fruit and vegetable growth
it was all too much really. Whatever
you do don't panic

Stuffed some of my proud cucumber in my mouth
my fat mouth to test its resilience. A moist chew
and most delish to use a word my wife hated

I was going to offer a cutting of
this fast growing heritage gourd
to Annette my co-worker
but right now yes I should warn the others

To lend myself some dignity I donned
a straw hat and my vintage t-shirt
the one sporting the legend
Canned Iron Comedian
we all liked the way it hung on my dadbod

The water was rising and my top was wet
tried to pull it off over my head
but it got trapped in the straw hat
my mouth full to choking with fruit
or was it a vegetable, and I recalled

The words wise words of Wolsey: All
human activity is meaningless, and
struggle is futile boy

Some local children had spotted my pool
and began to frolic, good for them

* * * *

But once she found it charming the sweet talk
and the queer slang I used

She said you big dummy don't you see
how the whales and elephants
are looking down on us from their jungle perch

She was convinced they were spying on us
something to do with the refraction of light
nacreous clouds, the fata morgana

At first it seemed quirky cute later
frankly insane, plus she had the temerity
to say they were trying to burn the five statues
of our heroes the great ones our champions
the five true statues we'd been searching for all our lives

We had never been told their names
why do your sky creatures have it in for those guyz
oh, she said, you know they're guyz

I needed some new vocabulary to
pull down the ropes from the skyline

Friday, 3 July 2026

Ivory Power more like

The decision of granting of tenure is a life long commitment
Oooooh I'm up for tenure mur mur muh

I left teaching because I couldn't get tenure
I stopped worrying about tenure
So it looks like I got my tenure

The rules have saddled colleges
with self-indulgent prima donnas
elbow-patch eggheads and smug becardiganed twerps
who seem to think they're philosopher kings

Checklist, I never leave home without
One, my laser pointer with five settings
it's a real ice-breaker with the sophomores

Tenure can be used as a club to wield against the powerless
O me! O life! I'm having a mid-term crisis
I mean, I have tenure. I really can say whatever I want

Two, reference management software
i.e. EndNote to manage libraries

Tenure in any department is a serious business
His tenure review is in three months
It means, essentially, employment for life
You can't get fired, even if you're bad at it?
He's trying to get an article in print
What does Gopnik say?

I mean, I have tenure and it's a terrible idea
Well I'm up for tenure this fall
I really can't say whatever I want

Three, leather bound notebook
it adds a touch of olde worlde class
yet remains entirely blank

I can really say whatever I want
I'm up for tenure at Columbia!
It keeps them around forever and they don't have to work hard
What does Gopnik think?
I'll be up for tenure in a few years. Does that count?

Four, my periodic table temperature-controlled mug
gifted me by a fellow Nobel Laureate

Professor Thurber loves to teach
but I really didn't want to become a professor
or get tenure or even teach or even exist

Maybe we don't have to wait for tenure. Maybe we
just say goodbye yellow brick road goodbye Harvard
or maybe we just have to wait to wait to wait for tenure

Five, I like to wear the full gown, hood, Tudor bonnet regalia
my track record of astronomical research
deserves a certain ceremonial grandiosity

I probably shouldn't be saying this on TV, but
a dual monitor setup is de rigueur
sure a stylus tablet, the stream deck and
to the extent that tenure supports ergonomic peripherals
a high-end USB microphone, and academic freedom, I support tenure

"I'm a tenured professor"
Congratulations. I'm so happy for you
Professor Thurber swears by Hagoromo fulltouch chalk and yet
the academic tenure process stands in the way of great research
Oh Donald you don't have to tell me about
the dramas played out in academic departments

I have a tenure joke, but you won't get it