OFF-GRID
Steven Waling
1
Here am I face down truffling
in a bowl of difficulty switch
phone off fun creative engaging
w/ landscape where the heart
is it recovers lines
have been elided others are
more or less complete unsuitable
for heavy goods wait here when
red light shows as the road
snakes the hillside steam from
distant working mill so last
century autumn sun dazzles
through fresh air a book of difficult
in my want shed let them enjoy
that seat they sprinted for opening
to valleys in the Derbyshire peaks
littered with paths for trespassers
all we want’s a day wi’out smog
2
Echoes everywhere birds whistling
the Manchester Rambler if this is
global warming I’m all for it sit by
packhorse bridge no fishing we
prosecute trespassers at any time
plaque in the car park 12 feet up
the cliff as I trudge through the peat
the underlying rock is Millstone Grit
be properly equipped jackdaws chatter
two rivers rinsing the rocks meet
run off together 2 children giggling
we’re waxing poetic again stop it
this is my escape and I love it should
you be looking for a job Arthur Lowe
born in this terrace plantar fasciitis
you fascist of feet church bells
toll the half-hour in the Studio
painting / drawing for the terrified
3
Anyway I’m writing so bugger off
by the Hayfield Countryside Centre
autumn scarlets brmm of little bus
out of everywhere light but it gets
dark sooner a day off grid warm
where the working man takes the air
for his own lungs worried about
the planet but it’s been a grand day
dodging time’s bailiff instant
jobmatch meetups this week switch
off phone catch the bus back home
low sun in my eyes not nothing
this quiet so linguistically innovative
if I put my mind to it I could be
William Wordsworth of New Mills Asda
language services or surfaces
and the big bright sky where clouds
write their names reduce speed now
Steven Waling has been widely published in journals both in print and online, most recently at Some Roast Poet and The Curly Mind. His books include Travelator (Salt), Captured Yes (KFS) and Hello GCHQ (Dept). A new book, Disparate Measure aka Spuds In History, will be out soon.
