<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Possum<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the news tonight<\/p>\n was a woman who<\/p>\n evaded marriage<\/p>\n by pretending to be dead.<\/p>\n She could have said no,<\/p>\n so this was a clear,<\/p>\n if clearly indirect,<\/p>\n disengagement<\/p>\n and instructive example<\/p>\n for useful deployment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have at this moment<\/p>\n a very awkward request<\/p>\n lying awkwardly on my desk.<\/p>\n I intend to avoid it<\/p>\n by pretending to be dead.<\/p>\n The office can make contact<\/p>\n to say Mr Hattaway<\/p>\n will not be responding<\/p>\n today or tomorrow<\/p>\n because he seems to be dead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I very much like weddings<\/p>\n but dancing is not my strength.<\/p>\n In future, to avoid dancing,<\/p>\n I\u2019ll pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A neighbour\u2019s dispute<\/p>\n over noise or poor parking?<\/p>\n Pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Mother\u2019s Day<\/p>\n or some other event<\/p>\n seeking appropriate tokens<\/p>\n of esteem and affection,<\/p>\n which you have forgotten<\/p>\n to procure.<\/p>\n Pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n In a drinking game<\/p>\n but over your head?<\/p>\n If unconscious doesn\u2019t work,<\/p>\n pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n No TV licence?<\/p>\n Pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n In the pub,<\/p>\n trapped in discourse on<\/p>\n the thrombo-erotic<\/p>\n as a semantic signifier<\/p>\n in a proto-causative<\/p>\n post-prose context.<\/p>\n You could pretend<\/p>\n to be well-read<\/p>\n or to be dead.<\/p>\n Grass needs cutting?<\/p>\n Pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n Your turn for the dishes?<\/p>\n Pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n The house work or making the bed?<\/p>\n Pretend to make the bed<\/p>\n – for the rest, pretend to be dead.<\/p>\n Need post-modern irony<\/p>\n to update your rep?<\/p>\n Pretend to be alive.<\/p>\n If the critics don\u2019t buy it,<\/p>\n pretend to pretend<\/p>\n to be dead.<\/p>\n Lent money to friends<\/p>\n who won\u2019t pay, or mention, the lend?<\/p>\n Pretend they are dead.<\/p>\n Afraid of the world<\/p>\n where the world is a threat?<\/p>\n Bury your head in the sand<\/p>\n and leave it there.<\/p>\n Then you won\u2019t have to pretend.<\/p>\n Or repent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Be prepared for extended pretending<\/p>\n and don\u2019t abandon<\/p>\n the insurance or rent<\/p>\n and do what you can<\/p>\n to stay out of debt,<\/p>\n because one way or the other<\/p>\n the pretending, like the lending,<\/p>\n must end.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n