Poems
Mostly empty space, Victorious!
sailing out against a sea of Virginia’s wolfs wading
helpless, harrowed sorrow billowing skirts of jellyfish
yellowing and returning some hundred years later
Victorious!
running rings round the saturn edge of cups and saucers, victorious
measuring out quiet desperation of coffee morning moons are
Victorious and
blue days on the backs of black dogs, Victorious!
falling down in clumps of National Disgrace, Victorious!
pricing out the seeds of springtime for some dime-store demon clown goes
pop, pop, pop! culture war gonna get you
on 5th Avenue
Victorious!
I should have listened to my old man, Victorious…
there’s a field out back, beyond all this inglorious horse shit
come meet me, come sit with me there, come lay by my side
there’s no reason that I should still be standing
Victorious
the world is too successful to talk about so
kiss me, Victorious
on the memory
of trafalgar steps
outside the gates of Heaven
in 1997
when we were last seen victorious.
Haiku 8
Words kissing softly
jumping swirling in your gut
heart string paper cut
The Orange Socks
You are gone
the house is quiet.
I steal into your room
find your orange socks.
I hold them
secretly pull them
on.
I marvel at the sight.
When I wear your orange socks
My feet look like yours.
Readings
You Are Better Than My Pen
A powerful new voice in contemporary verse. From the streets of a Belfast childhood to wandering in Downtown New York, from meditations on life in rural, cathedral-town Sussex to the deep, flowing rivers of desire, this first collection of poetry from Mike Jenkins mixes the numinal with the everyday, the earthy with the spiritual, and the romantic with the carnal.
With stories of hope, love, and happiness in fleeting moments, and pain, longing, and despair in others, these poems are never less than beautiful, honest, and breathtakingly original – sharing the voices of mothers, fathers, lovers, and – at times – of darkness itself. But at the heart of this collection is a simple idea: trying to capture the essence of moments that are sometimes more powerful than the pen.
Words Out Loud
Mike was a founding Trustee of Words Out Loud: a poetry & spoken word open-mic event and arts project that aims to develop a connected literary community confident of finding and sharing its voice. He’s taking a break from involvement in the project to focus on his own creative work.
Their mission is to provide space, opportunity and support to enable unrepresented and aspiring writers to find their creative voice and connect with their audience through written and vocal expression, leading to publication in a range of media.
Find out more about Words Out Loud
