Piss Proud

On the other side of the pond

They take the piss. 

I have a hard time wrapping

My matter-of-fact American mind

Around this pastime.

It's backwards in every logical way. 

Why the hell would someone want piss?

What do they do with it after they've taken it?

I heard it's based on a morning erection,

Brought on by a full bladder.

Appears this is the only reason

Anyone might want to be

On the receiving end.

tk May 2015


Humorous retro-esque read by R.A.D. ...that SNIFF (!) 

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Station

You sprint down

the platform at Piccadilly.

The first time I see you run.

Boyish.  Easy.

Sun pales gray

through the train shed roof,

as if we are lit for a morning set.

I wait for someone to shout "Cut!"

The doors close.

We're late.  The attendant frowns. 

Next train leaves at 11:11.

I don't mind.  It's lucky.

The carriage is warm.  It sways.

You explain why bricks change to stone

in the crosshatch of hedgerows

and sundry farms.

I find a station in your arms.

Stillness in your eyes.

Think how indecently happy,
should I suddenly die.

tk/April 2015

Lovely read by R.A.D. ...like the gentle sway of a train carriage...

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Yorvik

R.A.D. Stainforth on the City Walls, York, UK  (photo by Tess Kincaid)
 

Like the city, your grip is strong.

You guide me in quiet stride. 

Minster rises distant in paper-gray sky.  

We step the same medieval stones.

Wool-jacketed school children swarm the crossroad,

laughing.  The Ouse laps and sighs "Camelot!"

Creamy limestone becomes mildewed churches.

Rose windows.  Gothic curves.  Human efforts.

You point to chimney pots from station road walls.

I look up, hold tight against the cobbles.  

Our feet touch.  Suddenly, you are an ancient king,

noble as a chess piece, handsome among the yew trees. 

tk/March 2015 

Beautifully reminiscent read by R.A.D. ... 

York City Walls, March 5, 2015, photo by Tess Kincaid

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You say lustreware...I say lusterware...

A glint of shiny copper caught my eye, among the jars and glassware on the housewares shelf at G-Dub (my local Goodwill store) last week. Magpies always go for the glitter. Sure enough, it was a little copper lusterware creamer; a total steal for $2.99.  (Sorry, I was hasty with the Goo Gone, and forgot to leave the wax pencil-marked price for all to enjoy.) Lusterware or lustreware, as our English friends like to spell it, is pottery or porcelain, with metallic oxides in the glaze, that give the effect of iridescence.

After a little research, I found this creamer was older than I suspected, dating from about 1810 to 1840, when most of the overall luster pieces were produced. The chip on the spout actually gives a clue to its origin, exposing the rough, red earthenware clay, used to make these pieces in England. The copper pieces are the most common, followed by silver, and then gold, the more rare and collectible. I now have one piece of each, in my  collection of three. The silver pieces were sometimes known as "poor man's silver", a shiny, inexpensive substitute for the real thing, back in the day.

Gibsons, Staffordshire, lusterware, silver

Wedgwood, Fallow Deer pattern, lusterware, gold