The skewer of my bones
is in constant rotation.
I’m the irascible bus driver,
a true turret-gunner.
Nowadays, all is globe-shaped.
And what is a wheel
but a backstreet deal
made with the promise
of the physical?
           When I had
a black tooth removed
the black pain it
spun me made me dizzy.
Then good Leonardo
brought me the elliptical,
but it’s impossible
to find a hat that fits.

So, my discarded head
guards the kingdom
with its outward rudeness,
twisting in the spittle of the wind.
I am the mad conductor
of the orchestral angles
of direction: this is the way
to the tube station, a nod.
That way for a good place
to fill a body.

     And I cannot,
will not, shake the feeling
of automaticity.
I smell the cleaning chemicals,
the production lines,
the conveyer belts
in constant rotation.

VERY fun & VERY interesting, James. Not nuts about the "constant rotation" repeat -- think it's a good idea, but maybe needs to acknowledge itself.
Wondered if WB was one of those bridges where heads of traitors or defeated warriors were displayed on pikes, that sort of thing.
Wondered about I think Wordsworth's Westminster Bridge poem.
Maybe just a bridge to you, to us Yanks of course everything British is steeped in something, at least tea. Tom

Thanks, Tom. I'm quite attached to that repetition, but thanks for your thoughts.

Actually, apart from one or two isolated instances, WB did not play host to heads on spikes (but it was definitely present in my mind at writing); that honour was mostly reserved for London Bridge, which welcomed the noggins of people like William Wallace (who was the first on display ever), Thomas More, and Thomas Cromwell-- the practice went on for about 400 years from the 14th century, until Charles II stopped it.

Just imagine if was still accepted! Who's head would be up there...

james

james, I know I compliment you alot on your writing, but I really mean it, and if I did anything else I wouldn't be me.

Re your poetry, wanted to let you know I've got my eye on this one, but there are just some poems I don't like to comment on til I'm ready.  Won't say more, but it's a compliment.

cheryl

My thought, James, is not to remove the repetition, but add a word or something to allow it to acknowledge itself somehow.

Enjoyed this trip, James, especially this:

Then good Leonardo
brought me the elliptical,
but it’s impossible
to find a hat that fits.

Cheers

milner

I might leave "the" out in the line with 'of the wind'
Picking this regardless.

ld

Cherylanne, I look forward to your exposition!

Tom, I'm still a little unclear what you mean. Doesn't the fact that it is a repetition make obvious that it is, well, a repetition? Sure it's me being stoopid here.

Thank you Milner, glad you enjoyed!

And cheers for the pick Lynn. I feel like I haven't spoken to you in an age! Appreciate the suggestion but think I'll stick with the 'the' for the metre.

james

Love the title to this poem.  Several different ways to look at it as in literal heads, or in the atmosphere of mind, or even in a sort of head ego thing.  I think all of those could apply to this poem if so inclined.

I think what I like best about this poem is the way you mention words and then illustrate them.  For instance 'black tooth' 'black pain' 'spun me dizzy' 'elliptical' -- all sound like a bit of 'constant rotation' and 'the guard' the 'kingdom' 'mad conductor' and 'automaticity' (are you making up your own language again?, lol).

And all at the same time, the last verse reminds of the Industrial Age which is significant to the growth of London.  Maybe someone would think about those things looking off the bridge.  Maybe Wordsworth did.

Also, you 'rotate' back to the beginning, repeating 'automaticity' 'constant rotation'.  Altogether brilliant really.

cheryl

well i'd like to say something clever, like ask and you shall receive, which sounds really stupid right about now, about how my response just collided and appeared after yours, but my mind is blank of cleverness.

cheryl 

Sometimes a repetition can seem dead, maybe inadvertent; sometimes one seems very pointed or otherwise meaningful. Sometimes to get what you want out of it, you have to acknowledge it, or example as we often do when we say "our own shoes" instead of just "our shoes" in the line after we mention someone else's shoes.
Here, two examples off the top of my head would be--

the conveyer belts also
in constant rotation

or

the conveyer belts, yes,
in constant rotation

though I don't recommend either one of those examples as the best solution, James! Hey, if it sounds good to you and everyone else, it's just my own imagined problem, anyway. Tom

My week and my delight to move this on up Front.

lynn

JTH, congrats! Good to read this again. Tom

More than fit for the site's show window, James. Well picked, Lynn.

milner

Shucks. Quite the surprise Lynn, and very welcome as I struggle through my end of term essays like a brick through quicksand!

Much appreciated, Tom and Milner.

james