The Escalator Up From Quadrant 9

by Paul Tristram / October 24th, 2021

I have been practicing my moves
in the Communal Showers
at 4am… when I am alone.
I can work around the Guards
… but, those Cameras alert
to any form of rhythm change.
I observed old No. 47
nod off to sleep, 2 weeks ago
… his face dipped forward
almost in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n
… as soon as the Machinery
bit the end of his nose…
it dragged him in with a Crunch
… until his shoulders jammed.
No. 18 [instinctively] pushes…
I can use this to my advantage,
if I can get the ‘Timing’ perfect
… like a dance manoeuvre …
I can pinball backwards rapidly
… feigning loss of Control…
and wallop that Bastard No. 26
in his Back with my Back…
sending him forward into Death.

Paul Tristram is a widely published Welsh writer who deals in the Lowlife, Outsider, and Outlaw genres.  He wrote his first poem as a teenager following his release from the (Infamous) Borstal ‘HMP Portland’, and he has been creating Literary Terrorism ever since.  His novel ‘Crazy Like Emotion’ is available to purchase right here . Also his collection of shorter fiction Kicking Back Drunk ‘Round The Candletree Graves' is available to purchase at https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0DFMTSR4F Both books are published by Close To The Bone Publishing. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, October 24th, 2021 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.