it is unforgivably ill-conceived
and therefore, recklessly heinous
to insist
the oldest continuous culture
adopt what is at best
a way of living
that is inherently fragile
and embarrassingly unsustainable

First published by Friendly Street in “New Poets 19”

i chase
conversation
pursue life’s meaning
need to contribute
share
belong
measure myself
against others
couple with friends
seek answers
yearn stability

i live alone

Lucky Jefferson "Testament" November 2019

he was ten and,
she was seven;
he was an aspiring
magician
and so, before her
he laid
a single white handkerchief
and on it he placed
his invitation;
a small silver styled ring
asking her,
“will you marry me?”
she, puzzled, replied:
“what’s the trick?”

Newly Published by “Underground Writers” in Issue #28 ‘Invitation’
http://underground-writers.org/product/issue-28-invitation/

time is not a friend
to me
as his briskness
has too quickly aged me;
he has though, lagged painfully
through numbing routine
and
when i rued your absence
he did not stand still
as he has
for those who have passed,
and for that
i remain indebted –

as should you

First Published Sept/Oct 2019 ‘The Mozzie’

imagined precisely
authored biologically
managed medically
carried expectantly
raised exactly
schooled religiously
worshipped naively
dreamed unimaginatively
trained mechanically
loved inattentively
married prematurely
housed uniformly
reproduced expeditiously
urbanized routinely
worked tirelessly
aspired inappropriately
retired remorsefully
travelled reluctantly
aged tragically
died hypothetically
recycled metaphysically

in so many ways

First published in Friendly Street Poets Anthology ‘Alchemy’ 2019; poem of the month, August 2018 and "Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual 2020" (UK)

do you notice them
the watchful, the weary,
sometimes gaunt
or busily hunched
or seated, alone
drawing, scribbling
into closely guarded journals,
or walking,
forever walking
avoiding contact, interaction,
engagement - maintaining distance
shepherding commuters from
psychosis, paranoia,
unwellness, either
diagnosed or undiagnosed
while a few, bolder,
shout esoteric warnings
to the crowd, curious onlookers
or the sky –

symptomatic of the discarded,
the misfit or the rejected
they dot the urban landscape
uncounted but monitored,
lest they attack the shadows
we cannot see

First Published in ‘New Poets 19’ FSP, 2018