Drew Milne
Drew Milne was born in Edinburgh, Scotland 1964. His books
of poetry include
Sheet Mettle (1994),
Bench
Marks (1998),
The Damage (2001),
Mars
Disarmed (2002) and
Go Figure (2003). He is the Judith
E. Wilson Lecturer in Drama and Poetry, University of Cambridge,
and edits the occasional journal
Parataxis:
modernism and modern writing.
| Ornamental volutes lend propriety
unsewn |
| a prospect of dentils carved to cornice
an |
| entablature cushion gleaming bed
esteem |
| western glint bathing northern ice
glooms |
| for picture gallery in smart media
sandpit |
| now soft now cool stole from marsh
cut to |
| the walled apartment stating obvious
pies |
| as ties made of charred olive or
lately silk |
| no more but bowshot born of salient
angle |
| rounded towers engaged to driving
wedge |
| give teeth or saw say burnt brick
mud and |
| the mighty law set in the tower of
the wind |
| marbled to equinoctial gnomon inclinations |
| then left to blow the flanks her
Hercules on |
| the circus for Venus sat in pride
of harbour |
| overlooking the peak daubs out in
tawdry |
| oak shingle come thatched tuft crossbeams |
| set doing rusticated pyramids tortoise
style |
| scarcely referring to the ziggurat
example |
| left in the wake of burning next
thing scars |
| to refinement the bountiful timber
yawning |
| deforestation once more as the Easter
isles |
| show how to triumph over a sustain
pedal |
| the rock that passes all Ozymandian
flares |
trim |
| among the spoils of weathering though
the |
fire |
| baking sun justly named a builder's
friend |
mist |
| now tease out salt in chippy efflorescence |
sunk |
| |
| gush |
drop |
down |
clay |
hole |
|
| test |
curl |
poor |
soil |
sort |
td>
| chin |
spot |
vein |
seed |
drop |
td>
| look |
clay |
sand |
wild |
keep |
td>
| Fair |
feeling |
from |
rules |
| ministry |
to |
certain |
trains |
| beyond |
stone |
mortar |
chimera |
| beside |
pilasters |
without |
order |
| surmounted |
monstrous |
pepper |
boxes |
| mock |
fab |
disgraced |
kettles |
| stucco |
the |
super |
sub |
| rods |
splashed |
in |
ironing |
| for |
verd-antique |
the |
wilds |
| mistaken |
buttresses |
holding |
crockery |
| steel |
in |
the |
floodplain |
| hymns |
spelt |
cursive |
bricks |
| lionizing |
the |
construction |
worker |
| niche |
cottages |
for |
temples |
| woody |
dingle |
motion |
smoke |
| throng |
silver |
trunks |
corny |
| clusters |
along |
pegged |
thatch |
| wiggy |
mosses |
wandering |
lichen |
| and |
decay |
plain |
double |
| lattices |
flatly |
arched |
fluted |
| glory |
rusticated |
of |
mourning |
| the |
whole |
deep |
blue |
| melted |
away |
into |
sapphire |
| pale |
cities |
gleaming |
champaign |
| Then spelt plaster volcanic powder
mixes |
|
| lending strength set hard even on
water |
|
| look to how slight a light tufa exfoliating |
|
| exposed the crumble to salt eating
away |
|
| cannot stand a great heat but providing |
|
| spread properly topped the proper
once |
|
| more blush structural booty to placemat |
|
| for wattle and daub the more the
worse |
|
| studs and girt all set to shrink
once sunk |
|
| rot down courses settles and sags
like a |
|
| dreary skin who spoke the human breast |
|
| to be furnished with open windows
slash |
|
| sash for preference in the draft
dexterity |
|
| bean control in the showering portion
to |
|
| hum general thrust merest counter
palms |
|
| onto sheerest air all given up to
asserted |
|
| maths so enthused by the asses and
obol |
|
| what tongue to lash some guilty pleasing |
|
| decking out on top saying the pycnostyle |
|
| is an abomination cold intercolumniations |
|
| bring on the nonconformist specs
to dusty |
|
| in thickness adjusted our demos loss
bed |
|
| covers from a heavy shower eating
away |
|
| diminished solids the shaft swollen
ocular |
|
| laid under the brightest capital
a column |
|
| and steps fit for wheel chair access
ramps |
asphalt |
| on pumice or sponge-stone for foundation |
abounds |
| |
|
| honeycomb |
ballistae |
marble |
|
| scorpiones |
tholepin |
rubble |
|
| catapultae |
triglyph |
scree |
|
| Long |
shadows |
of |
cypress |
| blossom |
the |
glancing |
aloes |
| pale |
night |
vision |
statues |
| full |
of |
dashing |
waters |
| distant |
precipices |
taking |
aim |
| to |
mingle |
every |
opening |
| gray |
tint |
footnote |
baroque |
| embosomed |
streaky |
green |
foliage |
| lances |
lie |
smooth |
sward |
| moon |
surface |
general |
Orestes |
| without |
wings |
or |
adjuncts |
| nothing |
but |
stables |
trenches |
| rod |
dagger |
of |
passion |
| but |
more |
laconic |
avenue |
| lights |
by |
channelled |
mullions |
| each |
brick |
stamped |
Ur-hamlet |
| shelves |
counters |
clerks |
grocers |
| pinnacles |
of |
the |
sugar-loaf |
| broad |
shield |
crested |
gryphon |
| proud |
portals |
all |
risers |
| to |
electrify |
its |
beholder |
| doggerel |
doing |
chalet |
pagoda |
| baby |
fortifications |
upon |
bones |
| soft |
votary |
of |
luxury |
| houses |
more |
than |
fortresses |
| safes |
more |
than |
keeps |
| sculleries |
more |
than |
dungeons |
| wherever |
soil |
breaks |
velvet |
| bonnet |
castellated |
zizgag |
monotony |
| farthest |
surge |
misty |
blur |
the flower fadeth but the stems
become washing lines wrapped
in sediment & seaside simulacra
the b/w repro or shed to absent
flourishing the florid leisure stud
wall echoing wafts in blown trills
to the g string built on its topless
tortilla come bricks mortar and
drought cots from fishnet waters
pink veils soiling in advert copy
over the picturesque turn round
Franco's military bosom rampant
the rusting dome on the acropolis
as the local power ballad rocks
insects and mopeds pronouncing
surrealist tat and tache a breeze
as Costa Live lets us in on which
dream in the archaic lava sports
red and ochre tiled roof pictures
with grand bulldozers of tourism
c/o Deutsche Bank's passion to
perform their latter day Roman
circus upon purple scars vistas
worthy of Duchamp done froth
for the feast of egg & egg plant
eyeballs on choc stick pilasters
kiwi and lank linguini à la Dali
do the Bougainvilia poesi@rock
© 2009
Salt Publishing Limited 
