The Scab of My Consciousness

Picking the scab
of my consciousness
releases radioactive plasma
and causes
neo-surrealist visions
of pugilist figures
and tribal images
to scatter among
the urban lexicon

As I listen carefully
to the alcoholic nun,
malevolent science
moves in flux
to liquidize my bones

So, go and play
your guitar on the sand
she says,
and eat some minted soup
it’s good for the soul

What does she know?

pétillant

you wrote a song about sparkling water and gave it the title ‘pétillant’ because, I suppose, that sounds exotic; but you could have said fizzy instead

How to prioritize your problems (all because you mistrusted a beautiful girl)

(place the following in order of importance)

• Don’t assume that having a French girlfriend will be great – take a look in her bathroom and find the cabinet stuffed with out of date medication
• Don’t always tell the truth because it can upset people
• Don’t bother sniffing when you have a dripping nose – it does little to help
• Beware of talking with a smiling voice as it can sound smug
• Decide whether the man carrying the Zimmer frame instead of using it really is worse off than you
• Consider whether there is such a thing as an asymmetrical view of life
• Ask if there will ever be such a thing as a self-driving bicycle
• Wonder whether you should really have quit the Bible Studies group

After completing this exercise, consider this: do you really know what anxiety looks like?

Henry Bladon.  is based in Somerset in the UK. He is a writer of short fiction and poetry and teaches creative writing for therapeutic purposes. He has degrees in psychology and mental health policy, and a PhD in literature and creative writing. His work can be seen in O:JA&L, Forth Magazine, Tuck Magazine, Mercurial Stories, The Ekphrastic Review, and Spillwords Press, among other places.