This week, TFE's Poetry Bus is in the safe hands of the good Barbara Smith - and her prompt involved responding to the line;
'I got down on my knees and smelled the brand new linoleum,' from a story by Edna O'Brien, with emphasis on responding with longer lines.
Which I did - like this;
Trackstopper
I got down on my knees and smelled the new linoleum
and blessed the modern age that threw this dreamtime down
unrolled a pristine plane across my gritty concrete cage
clapped into place a slippery playground, this stage
across which - newly confident - I'd glide, a dancer born
my encores blowing faded floral curtains wide
a technicolor faun cavorting in my den until
I'd curl to snooze - a faded star becalmed again
alas, at other times my knees would squeak and drag as if
arrested by some drogue, a limpet smacked in place
I'd stick - just like that - scabbed knees turned to roots, topple
face down, cheek pooled cool to ground - looking back I'm glad it wasn't jute
GLADIATOR 2 IS VIOLENT BUT RARELY IF EVER DEPRAVED
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Anyone who has ever seen a sword and sandal epic from the great period of
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