The Poem of the Sock
after Martin Stannard

The poem of the mask disguises meaning.
The poem of the diet lost seven words.

The poem of the snowman melted.
The poem of the invisible man                   .

The poem of the ventilator needs to breathe.
The poem of the ruler rules, okay!

The poem of the bath had no depth (full of bathos).
The poem of the mirror was a true reflection.

The poem of the plane never really took off.
The poem of the ship soon ran aground.

The poem of the sock has a hole in it.
The poem of the needle is a stich-up.

The poem of the highlighter reveals all we need to know.
The poem of the horse that fell was just getting into its stride.

Paul Stephenson’s debut collection Hard Drive Carcanet, 2023) was shortlisted for Lambda Literary Award and Polari Book Prize. He has three pamphlets including The Days That Followed Paris, written after the 2015 terrorist attacks. He co-edited the Europe (70) and recent Ownership (92) issues of Magma.