00:00
The kobold phantom chronograph
worn by Kiefer Sutherland in “24”:
his ticking timepiece
as the boot goes in.
01:00
Sleep-famished he saw everywhere
hobgoblins, some in the uniform of guards
stirring gruel-pots and chattering
obscenely amongst themselves.
02:00
Movements of aircraft carriers
in darkened waters, of unmarked containers;
improvised rendition of old numbers,
hymns of elimination.
03:00
They now gnaw at his feet while he lies
insensible, working his empty mouth,
his shaking lips incompetent
to form the words of dismissal.
04:00
It was a sounding grotto, vaulted,
vast; the walls imprinted
with sullen figures, stilled lives
on heavy rotation, leering from the murk.
05:00
This also, by the dawn’s early pre-light:
night-terrors clothing themselves with substance.
The *racailles*: why have they not fled to their burrows?
The devils, why are they still here?
06:00
Divers alarums. The first howls of morning:
dogs, children, cars. The sun puts out his rays.
The papers declare: “Pumpkin Head Escapes!” -
blurred orange jumpsuit in daring cross-country dash.
07:00
The phantom chronograph - like something
from children’s literature. Timekeeping
a vanished technique in this land of the dead:
whole days dance widdershins about the clockface.
* * *
Some context for this may be found in k-punk’s excellent articles on Nigel Cooke and The Fall (“Pumpkinhead Xscapes” is the title of a relatively obscure Fall tune) - see especially:
and
- these are among the best things Mark has ever written, and I cannot commend them highly enough.
Dominic