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Gothic Clockwork Apparatus Man


by Chris Stafford


i am a jury-rigged juggernaut
with a mouthful of smoke and shadow...
an awkward stage between
glued popsicle stick marsupial
and mechanical tin foil mammal.
emergency broadcast system blares on every channel.

grindgrindgrind. chainsaw whale music.

smouldering remnant ember belly;
lumbering umberhulk engines
pump piss and vinegar through pistons perfectly.
exposed nerve clusterfuck combustion eviscerating doohicky;
tinker gnome haphazard assembly madness spews
debris and dust. detritus touch.

grindgrindgrind. chainsaw whale music.

i am machine parts. i am flywheels and lightning rods...
badly arranged wires; mismatched gears and cogs.
pock-marked boilerplate armour covered
with steam vents and nefarious geegaw.
a clunky robot bumper-car sysiphus.

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