Poetry Month 2012. 13: from Apocrypha

Apocrypha is a pamphlet by A B Jackson, published by Donut Press. It’s a tenner for 21 poems in a lusciously produced vo lume, which you can buy directly from the publisher.

The word apocrypha refers to books of the Bible (or other early Christian writing) ‘of questionable authenticity’ – and broadly, that’s what we have here. Biblical tales, re-wrought, saying something new.

You can read three poems from the collection here, but here’s another one:

     XI

     Moses horned, lantern-jawed,
     down from his mountain.
     The Law weighed half a ton,

     his palms and fingertips
     rosy-raw, the neighbours agog.
     Chinese whispers followed, via

     fat lip or speech impediment:
     avoid shellfish and homosexuals;
     dally not with incontinent vipers

     on Hollywood Boulevard; cherish
     cuckoo spit, the cuckoo wasp.
     Secure the election.

     Moses, in a marmalade wig,
     reloaded his gun.