by

The Clock Strikes Six

XLIX

After Sonnet 66 (the angry one with lots of “and”s)

Tired of all these, for deathly rest I moan,
coining off my days like duff scratchcards,
& travelcards are void in distant zones
& oven chips & posh shops snare our bards
& airwaves sag with karaoke waifs
& tabloids thrive on xenophobia
& masterpieces fade in tycoons’ safes
& HD screens create myopia
& youtube doggeralists reap all the clicks
& bankers spend a nurses wage in bars
& oceans froth with spillages and slicks
but I’d endure them if the fates allow
my wife and child to sleep another hour.

L

Shakespeare invited
death at the beginning of
his sonnet. I pass.

LI

The sun peers back
through glinting morning haze
finally eclipsing the dead glow
of my laptop screen

LII

A lone car crosses
paths with a man in high vis
on Waterloo Bridge

LIII

I missed sunset,
Waterloo Bridge paradise,
this sunrise will do.

LIV

A rage at the world
dissipates with the ebb
of my caffeine buzz.
Thoughts of loved ones bloom.

LV

Oh London,
if I wasn’t so busy with this task
I might have caught you sleeping.

LVI

Though I miss looking on
the ones I love this morning
the rising sun reveals a complexion
that I haven’t known from this city for too long.

LVII

I count twelve cranes across the skyline
immobile, hooks spooled up,
after tools were downed on Friday.

 

 

About Niall O'Sullivan

Niall O’Sullivan is a poet, editor and event host. He has performed poetry across the UK and Europe and has published three collections of poetry, you’re not singing anymore(2004), Ventriloquism for Monkeys(2007) and Sonnet Hack(2010). He was highly commended by the Forward Prize judges for his poem The Father in Law and featured on BBC radio and television during his residency at the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Championships. He currently hosts Poetry Unplugged, London’s premier open mic, at Covent Garden’s Poetry Cafe and teaches at The Poetry School.

3 thoughts on “The Clock Strikes Six”

  1. claudiarachel says:
    June 1, 2014 at 5:18 am

    I love conceit of “the clock strikes six”-it appeals to the part of me that’s been lying in bed trying to ignore my child since five.

    Reply
  2. claudiarachel says:
    June 1, 2014 at 5:21 am

    I love “the clock strikes six”-it appealed to the part of me that’s been lying in bed ignoring my son since five. Brilliant and angry and desperate and funny too.

    Reply
  3. claudiarachel says:
    June 1, 2014 at 5:22 am

    Reblogged this on MumHighs&Lows and commented:
    Why bother write your own posts when others say it so brilliantly

    Reply

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