Primus (Poetry)
30th December 2012
Disused for decades now —
retirement’s been a shedding of old skin —
the shrug that age pulls off —
the undoing of once-bright essential things
condemned to lie and rust.
Unmoved — all former function lost
beneath a speckled-orange melancholic crust
that denies it ever shone with purpose
and followed a career designed
for duties in the wide outdoors.
No more the busy fizz and boil —
the steady guarantee of heat —
all action now is deathly slow
while oxygen takes years to bubble through —
corrupting metal joints.
Leaning past a jumble of tin cans
the primus stove plays out its last lead role
as the subject of a painting using tones
to celebrate the textures of decay
in sympathetic detail — rich and raw —
the image a small history of change.
retirement’s been a shedding of old skin —
the shrug that age pulls off —
the undoing of once-bright essential things
condemned to lie and rust.
Unmoved — all former function lost
beneath a speckled-orange melancholic crust
that denies it ever shone with purpose
and followed a career designed
for duties in the wide outdoors.
No more the busy fizz and boil —
the steady guarantee of heat —
all action now is deathly slow
while oxygen takes years to bubble through —
corrupting metal joints.
Leaning past a jumble of tin cans
the primus stove plays out its last lead role
as the subject of a painting using tones
to celebrate the textures of decay
in sympathetic detail — rich and raw —
the image a small history of change.