Open the Trunk
(for Craig Charles)
October is the coolest month,
Out of silence comes a noise
Sparkling like a glitter toad,
Plunging like a butcherbird.
There is a tiger behind the door
And he is holding the handle.
He lifts the lid of the trunk, opens it a crack,
And from within a violent solar flare surges out,
A thousand times more powerful than the sun.
With switchblade tongue
He lilts a Beatle-maniacal line so louche
It reminds me of a time long ago
When he gave news from a Japanese stronghold,
Splitting sides as bodies fell into the mud below.
I’ve seen the best minds of my generation
Destroyed by madness brought on by that trunk –
Open it up and drive us to the brink.
Unleash a field of fiery carnations
screaming out your name!
I have been accused
and I have been acquitted,
Tonight we hail the trunk
and all that is transmitted.