2014
Dream as Alvin Baltrop
Artefact: Preview of the exhibition, ‘Alvin Altrop and Gordon Matta-Clark: The Piers from Here’, at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, in Gay Times, January 2014.
Time, time
Not going to do what you want
Can hang there, A
From the ceiling
In your makeshift harness
Watching and waiting
For all the hours in the world
But you ain’t going to be able to give time the slip
A tells himself
Time’s not in a photograph
Don’t fool yourself
Ain’t never going to be
Something else is
Might be
The beaming tips, say
The freezing dust
The strong wet tongue
Caught up in silver
Suspended
These things
Sex, bathing
Narcotising
You can while away your days for those lives
Net them
Grab their slippery
Hold that firm
Down to the deck
Throw your glistening catch forwards
Sharpie-marked for delivery
To the future
But, A
A says
Don’t kid yourself
Take a look at what time is doing
While you’ve got your good eye
Over on that other place
Oh, Mr Time’s going to impoverish you
And them
Going to spread, abnormally
Abominally
Not giving a fuck that you’ve got no insurance, dear A
Time doesn’t give two hoots about insurance
Ha!
Insurace being the idiot-opposite of time
He’s going to summon up those rich white gays
Their soap-clean fingers
Sharp with knowing
Eking their fresh dollars right out from all your waiting
From your life-hours
An old trick they know
Yeah, time’s got more
And plenty
Got muggings and violence
Detached, callous
Got the giving-up of bodies
The ones who couldn’t hold out this long
Got the taking
And the taking away
The sweeping through
En masse
Setting off a storm
Proliferating
So, then
Good old time can be lazy
Feet up on the couch
Greasy food, resting on the belly
So damn easy, the times they are now
Now that time just takes care of itself
Sweeping through
Mowing the grass
Don’t be down, A
A reminds himself
You always knew this
Not saying to stop
Nah
Nah, you keep doing it
Your eyes are fascinated with all that looking
Ain’t nothing wrong in that
Just don’t get confused
That’s all
Don’t let Mr Time sneak one up on you
Even though he’s good
He’s the master of that
The sneaky move
Not going to do what you want
Can hang there, A
From the ceiling
In your makeshift harness
Watching and waiting
For all the hours in the world
But you ain’t going to be able to give time the slip
A tells himself
Time’s not in a photograph
Don’t fool yourself
Ain’t never going to be
Something else is
Might be
The beaming tips, say
The freezing dust
The strong wet tongue
Caught up in silver
Suspended
These things
Sex, bathing
Narcotising
You can while away your days for those lives
Net them
Grab their slippery
Hold that firm
Down to the deck
Throw your glistening catch forwards
Sharpie-marked for delivery
To the future
But, A
A says
Don’t kid yourself
Take a look at what time is doing
While you’ve got your good eye
Over on that other place
Oh, Mr Time’s going to impoverish you
And them
Going to spread, abnormally
Abominally
Not giving a fuck that you’ve got no insurance, dear A
Time doesn’t give two hoots about insurance
Ha!
Insurace being the idiot-opposite of time
He’s going to summon up those rich white gays
Their soap-clean fingers
Sharp with knowing
Eking their fresh dollars right out from all your waiting
From your life-hours
An old trick they know
Yeah, time’s got more
And plenty
Got muggings and violence
Detached, callous
Got the giving-up of bodies
The ones who couldn’t hold out this long
Got the taking
And the taking away
The sweeping through
En masse
Setting off a storm
Proliferating
So, then
Good old time can be lazy
Feet up on the couch
Greasy food, resting on the belly
So damn easy, the times they are now
Now that time just takes care of itself
Sweeping through
Mowing the grass
Don’t be down, A
A reminds himself
You always knew this
Not saying to stop
Nah
Nah, you keep doing it
Your eyes are fascinated with all that looking
Ain’t nothing wrong in that
Just don’t get confused
That’s all
Don’t let Mr Time sneak one up on you
Even though he’s good
He’s the master of that
The sneaky move