by Tony Schanuel
The Cans
In front of the cans in front of an audience it was hard to choose. Especially as it was rumoured one had dirty-bomb scraps in, one had the key to let my family out of their cell and all the rest had ‘same as usual’ juice which would spill and re-infect everything.
I dug deep and remembered my psi training. I saw two wavy lines. I saw a UFO tipped upside down on the beach. The compere turned up the music. The audience hissed and booed. I picked a can. I put it down.
I was reconciled to any choice being wrong. That that was not wrong.
Tuesday, 17th April
It was all going so well, until you stopped. Just standing there for days. Breathing. Shivering in the cold until no cared anymore and the boys used you as a goal post. In time you became a telegraph pole then a surveillance support then a Doric column then a shaft of raw asbestos. Then your form returned, but out of chalk. A meteorite was where your brain would be but the lump of iron was more human. You took eons of thinking time, according to the rules, then stepped forward and ruined everything.
Graham Clifford is an award winning poet. He was born in Portsmouth, grew up in Wiltshire and lives in London with his partner and two daughters. His pamphlet, Welcome Back to the Country, and full collection, The Hitting Game are published by Seren. His pamphlet collection, Computer Generated Crash Test Dummies is published by The Black Light Engine Room, and his collection, Well, is published by Against The Grain. His fifth collection, In Charge of the Gun, is published by the Black Light Engine Room. He has a MA in creative writing from UEA and is a Head teacher. www.grahamcliffordpoet.com
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection.