Deadly Haste Indicator

(This is the poem Terminally Registered Dispatch after having been subjected to a thesaurus and further modification.)

Annihilate at once this strangest property
of spraying dream states on a wall, peculiar
puzzlement of those who've just gained liberty,
and strained to composition, blue, unrulier

than unchecked growth of mandrake's only seedling
gone soulless with a mellow insincerity,
a cool demeanour, with persistent wheedling:
insulted by a broad band of severity.

Wisdom demands an enigmatic climax:
to multiply the score and make it tally.
We're life guarded through fragile strained glass tie-racks.
I question to which flag we should all rally.

It's vain to pressurise without upset:
am I engrossed, and is this over yet?

© Peter Howard

first published in Envoi 1996