ask me why rubber tyres
always rise again to the surface
ask me why ice-cream
melts in the sun
ask me why trees
can’t go shopping
ask me why empty jam jars
are so fucking sad
ask me why the rottenness
grows & spread & stays
ask me why tarmac
yearns for the snow
ask me why magpies
are good at crossword puzzles
ask me why rats
sit at God’s right hand
ask me why the people
who control us
care not for our deaths
ask me why globalisation
leads to tribalism
ask me why female molluscs
are growing penni
ask me why our lives
drip with oil & slime
ask me why housewives
open tins of corned beef
at four in the morning
in suburban kitchens
ask me why worlds die
ask me why loss survives itself
ask me why it never comes back
you’ll always get
the
same answer
and that’s
probably wrong
.
Niall Griffiths
Picture Nick Victor
.