Bradford Middleton

SHE KNOWS. . . .

by Bradford Middleton

She came for him,

Desperate for attention

And the ubiquitous

Fame and untold royalties

All that wealth she

Was convinced she

Deserved but then shit

It all went wrong.

You can hear it in his voice

The way it cracked

The way it begged

As he asked her where she'd been the night before

She'd got him fixed bad

And played out her game

Claiming suicide was natural

Especially in his family line.

But this boy he was different,

He wasn't anything like his father

Loving instead his grandfather

Who raised him as if his own.

He got to the top but then

Crossed the wrong one,

She, determined to make it all the way

To the very very top.

He crossed her once,

He crossed her twice,

Then he threw a bundle

Out the window and

That just made her mad

As hell boiling over

So she arranged it easily

Got someone in.

Then suddenly we'd lost

A spokesman for my generation

Tears came for some

Anger for others

Some even took their own lives

A tribute I suppose to

One they could relate to.

Me, I just went back to the old stuff.

BOILED LIKE LOBSTER (NOT ME)

by Bradford Middleton

The beach is packed with those

Lacking humanity and like lobster

They boil whilst sure that

Everyone will love it. Their hot

Red-faced new look will leave

Them easy to spot, the clueless

Damn fools, leaving it easy to

Recognise their stupidity.

I sit indoors, in this darkened

Room, with no intention of leaving

Until the sun goes down cos that’s

When i can work my magic. I’ll

Leave this room and stalk these

Streets knowing there ain’t no

Chance for me to be seen with a damn

New look.

LUCKY NUMBER 7 (a poem, a joint & my lovely bed)

by Bradford Middleton

Lucky number 7 comes with difficulty tonight

As i sit here, high and on cheap wine as i cough

Up something all wrong. I stare at my ashtray

And see a few days filling it again, all joint butts

Needing every single one of them.

My lifeblood keeps me sustained

Keeps me sane when i could go mad

Makes me mad when i fear the worst

Keeps me calm whilst others lose their minds

Keeps my life ticking over.

I smoke almost every single day and if

Push came to shove i’d quit the drink before

I would that glorious weed. I’ll do one

More once i’ve shut this lid and then wake

Later and do a couple more before i’ll be

Back here again, working on the word.

THE OLD ROUTINE OF DREAMING & BLASTING

by Bradford Middleton

I sit alone with the old routine of beer & whisky

A joint-ends smoke rolled waiting my attention

In not too long a time and this is a moment i’ve

Dreamt of all day as i stood on the checkout from

Hell. All day i stood there with this blessed

Moment in my mind, dreaming of that moment

When i finally get off work and get home and

Hope by morning light i’ll have forgotten what

A rotter of a day i just lived through until this

Moment when now i’ll take a huge dose of that

Glorious golden spirit and that’ll surely help but

If it don’t there is always that thing waiting my

Attention in my overused ashtray.

FUCK IT, LET’S LISTEN TO THE RAMONES

by Bradford Middleton

The beer is cheaper

The music is better

And i can smoke whatever

I damn well please too

So maybe i need to

Stop going down that

Street and start and

Finish here

But without that how

I am ever

Going to find someone

After tonight i got

A simple answer, i never

Will cos this life is meant

To be spent

Alone, horny & drunk,

Stoned but with the

Idea that porn, booze and

The perennial

Smoke can’t fill this

Void then, hey ho

Fuck it time for the

Ramones and another

smoke, fuck it i can’t

Stay here all night.

Bradford Middleton lives in Brighton on England’s south coast. He was born in southeast London during the long hot summer of 1971 and then spent 35 years not writing poetry. When he landed here, and knowing no one and with no money, he began writing and submitting. His writings are now all over the internet, as well as in some quite respected journals and ‘zines and his three chapbooks of poetry are long sold-out. Want to be his friend, find him on Facebook @bradfordmiddleton1.