Andrew Shields: London

You know he's going to bullshit you

about summer snow that falls

on every park and heath.

The reflections from the glistening towers

clash in the air and on the ground,

too much for even the most hardened

sceptic to ignore. He launches

into a dizzying round of images

and ideas so far beyond anything

you've heard before. Will you

succumb to his persuasive arts?

How fast will you run as you take

the hurdles every 35 meters?

How many will you pretend

neither of you knocked down?

You think you broke the tape,

but he insists he got there

just a stride ahead of you,

and you agree you must have

slipped in the snow you're now

so sure was on the ground today.

Andrew Shields lives in Basel, Switzerland. His collection of poems "Thomas Hardy Listens to Louis Armstrong" was published by Eyewear in 2015. His band Human Shields released the album "Somebody's Hometown" in 2015 and the EP "Défense de jouer" in 2016. Mastodon / Facebook

John Grey: A Question of Survival

I think I'm cheating or something.

Otherwise, why do the gunmen

mow down the innocent in northern Kenya

and not here.

My life is like answers written

on the back of my hand.

Floods, earthquakes,

riots in the streets - no.

It says right here in my knuckles:

eat tasty dinner, watch TV,

go to bed and sleep deep.

Even when the violence is close,

there's a piece of paper

hidden in my pocket

that I can refer to.

Drug deal gone wrong?

No, it clearly states,

kiss on the cheek,

arm around the shoulder.

Three car pile-up on 295?

The missive declares,

drive on, go to your destination,

you're not involved.

I read the newspaper in the morning:

Kidnappings, muggings,

landslides and always more massacres.

Nothing in those pages indicates

that these or any other

crimes, wars and disasters,

can be avoided.

Not even the obituaries.

But the ones pictured

are always someone else.

If I knew my secret

believe me I'd share it

with all the ones

who don't know their secret.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, River And South and The Alembic. Latest books, “Bittersweet”, “Subject Matters” and “Between Two Fires” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Paterson Literary Review, White Wall Review and Flights.