The pure in heart are forming ranks And fingering their guns, So best reach for a crossword And polish up your puns. When single minds say history Is made of marching boots, Seek out the wilderness of words And live on roots.
For though the boots crunch down Still the words twist free And the song they sing Is multiplicity.
Words aglint with wickedness Wink from all around, Though hygeinists with acronyms Would stamp them to the ground. One little word'll make them itch To throw you in the quod, Extend the laws of blasphemy Or fetch the kneecap squad.
For the boots clamp down But the words twist free And I'm in love With the O.E.D.
The single-minded have The Word And slogan it in chorus. Introduce it to some friends - Recite the whole thesaurus
Of...
Words of granite, words of bone Words you whisper when alone Words in Bibles, words in drag Words as British as the flag Words that have the power to hurt Words courageous, words inert Words that stutter, words that flow Words that only women know Words abandoned, words precise Words that may be breeding lice Words that sailors use on boats Words that bite each other's throats Words galumphing, words effete Words that bluster, words that bleat Words exotic, savage words Words as somnolent as turds Words with Middle German roots Words in Doctor Marten's boots Words Miltonically tremendous Words with bit-parts in East Enders Words that glitter, words that droop Words in recipes for soup Words caressed in cocktail bars Words like foetuses in jars Words in lovesongs, words in jail Words that keening women wail Words delightful, words euphoric Words that smell of paregoric Words that bounce and words that buckle Words that child-molesters chuckle Words indecent, words in pain Words we'll never use again Words we gabble on the phone Words that rural deans intone Words resounding, true and brave Words that market aftershave Words unfit for human eyes Words that children vandalise Words that fondle, words that tear Words describing Rupert Bear Words as warm as cups of tea Words in captions on Page Three Words that fiddle, words that fake Words that think they're William Blake Words announced on railway stations Words with Freudian connotations Words like "voguing", words like "surd" Words unlike every other word Words that Mother used to sing Words that suddenly take wing And lift us in amazing flight Through the terrors of the night To gently leave us, open eyed Smiling on the other side.
(This poem was originally published under a pseudonym)
Back to the Snakeskin archive