# Five Open and Shut Case Coral Carter

I went east

more east than the east I already was

into the middle of middle country

the bling tree sprouted through concrete

all decked out in paper scraps

bottle caps

bits of friff and fraff  

blooms of a street kind

I was witness to the Omo fresh hair band collection

the latest in a strung-out wrung-out string of obsessions

Mexico, the cat, mewled

for enough food to add a layer of fat over her ribs

looks as if she has a belly full of kittens

a corner in the long grass would be a good place

for the ritual of the unwanted

hole maybe already prepared

I can't see from where I sit among

the collectables wood metal and webs

the Domestic Goddess hangs his washing

two pegs per item

tea he made is strong

listen to a tap run because that's what it does

the day holds something.

not dark spirits which pass through here.

some young others old

it is more about lightness air space

I feel it under my sternum not my head

could be the remnant of determined

pelicans’ glide to an overnight stop over

could be the sun souffleing the air.

could be it is a dawndusk flyway to wetlands

could be I am a bird voyeur in a verge-found chair

we are a kind in the east

chuck out the straight rules keep the bent

take our dose of un-prescribed daily.

wake drunk and go to bed happy

dream of oysters and clams

open and shut case

really

this business.