The following poems are taken from 99 poems to cure whatever’s wrong with you or create the problems you need, by Sam Pink, out now from Clash Books.

 

 

ALL MY STRENGTH FOR THIS ONE

Hold on to yourself

because I’m rocketing back up

from depths I’ve created

on the way to a star

I’ve only begun to imagine

& you can come with.

 

  

MY CARTOON

Turning a crank

on the side of my head

& shooting diamonds

out of my eyes

into your face

where they explode

with little dinging sounds.

You’re in my cartoon now

honey.

 

 

PULLED INTO MACHINES

My coworker told me

while staring off

that he’d been watching

more videos

of people

getting pulled into machines.

 

 

THE SUN-HEATED DRIVEWAY [AND OTHER UNTHANKED THINGS]

I thanked the sun-heated driveway

after stepping onto it

with cold feet.

& I decided

I didn’t thank the un-speaking

nearly enough.

I felt glad though

there was still a sense

of ‘not nearly enough.’

The cartoon continues.

 

 

COATTAILS

Laughing quietly

as you follow the thing

destroying all in its way.

& then it turns

and sees you

 

 

 

 

READ MORE about 99 Poems… out now from Clash Books.