Queertopia (Working Title)
i dreamt it once but i dream a lot
of things not all of them
printable but this was
some kind of culty shit
well no the good bits
of a cult if you can say
cults have redeeming features
i probably based the dream on
Rajneeshpuram that fleeting city in Oregan
from Netflix series Wild Wild Country but we all know
how that ended (unless you haven’t seen it
in which case exit now) it ended with toxified ideals
and toxins in watermains and a fallen guru skulking
away in one of six Rollers i am putting off
telling you about my dream the one where we wore
pristine tunics and seemed always to be stood
holding hands on a green horizon (because
dreams are basically 80s pop videos right
quick to wipe away like eye bogies manifestos)
i am still skirting the utopia issue saying
look over there just past where we can actually see
out to no-place where the idea isn’t tarnished
by the grotty reality of being together
in a bigger together that only wants us
together for our purchasing power
in my dream the lighting was excellent
and there were all manner of filters
and we held hands until they were so
sweaty the lens filled up
like a porthole on a lilting ship
and wouldn’t it be perfect
if i had woken up crying
Caleb Parkin is Bristol City Poet, widely published in journals and commissions. He tutors for Poetry Society, Poetry School, Arvon and holds an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. Wasted Rainbow (tall-lighthouse), This Fruiting Body (Nine Arches).