Matthew Paul: Poetry & Stuff

I’m delighted to be in another issue, of The North, for my money Britain’s best poetry journal. My poem is below.

The issue also contains poems by Ian McMillan, Pascale Petit, Kathy Pimlott, Ruth Sharman, Paul Stephenson, Maria Taylor, Pam Thompson and many other poets I admire. Details of this and other issues, and of subscription rates, can be found on the Poetry Business website, here.

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Invigilator Slater

I fail the first O-level Physics paper
      with over an hour to spare.

Ball-bearings rain bashes the corrugated-iron
      roof of the Nissen-hut gym. 

I take Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
      from my pocket, and Mr Slater,

our English teacher, baby-giraffes his corduroy-
      jacketed six-feet-eight between

Gorgeous-George-the-caretaker’s neat lines of desks
      to whisper, ‘Betcha don’t finish it.’