skyline going down in fire
in water, couple of arms
thrown up and then failing --
the world turns upside down
comes round in orbit; sky,
the ground, the ground the sky,
moving fast; the road,
the planet, fast-moving cloud --
old man out in the garden,
dark figure in bright sun,
over-exposed, light
cascading through a lens,
just missing him, whitewash
tipped from a bucket, pulling
a spade or a fork, straw hat
on his head, a pale blue sky,
sharp vision! tilting over
as we go at high speed;
a woman's foot on a
weighing machine; edge of
the bath visible, its side
wall and white top; corner
of the hand-basin; coffee
cup stains on the bath; mud
stains on the floor. She steps
off; the scale swings back and
forth; clank; wearing stockings;
oranges and apples juggled;
some children's hands throwing
and catching them; cameras
pointing into the sky
to catch the hands and fruit;
advertising signs
and signposts out of focus,
curve of a wheel giant at large
seen close (bonnet, headlight,
both look a bit old-fashioned,
both slightly blurred), all things
are solarised; winner
crossing the finishing line,
police tackling a striker,
tumbling together, skittles
colliding, grasses
interweaving under
the wind, my voice and a TV
shouting together to make
one image; milk bottles;
pillars of the British Museum,
turkeys and Canada geese
walking this way, topiary
hedges, woman swinging
a cape beneath her head,
two men shaking a carpet,
toreador, flag as he crosses
the line, and the spacecraft
rolling in space - a child
with whooping cough - a snake
eating flies at evening
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