the equation of edge V photographing Uranus

she said Vernon had lost his edge but that Michael still had his

we asked what is edge?

let me put it in a mathematical way she said …

size + frequency + charisma + looks + X = edge

what is X we shouted (we were affronted now)(and feeling rather inadequate)?

and what about creativity? what about danger?

and humour? (and steadfastness …)

X is that indefinable quality that some men have

yes creativity is in … she said after some thought (thank God said the writers)

oh and humour too

and sensitivity … maybe

in the corner of the drunken room the sky at night was showing on the TV: someone was interviewing a man who took pictures of the planets with a converted telescope in his back garden. In response to some missed question he said …

Photographing Uranus can be difficult on a cloudy night …

so we said in summary what you’re saying is …

size + frequency + charisma + looks + humour + sensitivity + X = edge

the room fell silent — the nature of the planets in the Solar System continued to amaze

and a question hung in the air — that we were too afraid to ask …

panic on the cliff V mummification (in the C21 sense)

I want a carapace: a shell: to be isolated from the world
so wrap me in polythene and bring me back into myself
I want to be insulated: bundled up
focussed: helpless: safe
body present — mind cut adrift on a sweated sensual sea
wrap me and rescue me …

memory is the coal we burn to live — everything is not rotten

some of the birds who live on the cliff can only fly by falling into the air

I refute Muldoon’s black rainbow …

the jumper stood on the cliff and said:
I’m not afraid of change I’m afraid of staying the same …

and when he jumped — there was no last second panic in his eye
just peace — he really knew how to have a good

(if exceptionally brief)

time …